As part of a major programming revamp, MSNBC has announced the cancellation of Joy Reid’s primetime show. The decision was spearheaded by the network’s new president, Rebecca Kutler.
Reports have indicated that “The ReidOut,” a staple of MSNBC’s 7 p.m. slot for the last half-decade, will be replaced by a new group news program featuring Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez.
Before joining MSNBC, Kutler served as a senior executive at CNN. Reid’s departure was confirmed by Kutler in a staff memo, marking her first significant programming decision since assuming her role as president in February 2025. The Associated Press reports that Reid’s slot will be filled by a rotation of anchors until the new program is launched.
When her appointment was announced, Kutler acknowledged the challenges of the job to MSNBC employees, stating “Our jobs are hard on a normal day, and these are not normal times,” She added, “It’s going to be hard, but it’s also going to be exciting and interesting and a really important time to do what all of us do.”
Reid, 56, has emerged as a prominent progressive voice and critic of President Donald Trump since joining MSNBC. She moved from hosting the weekend show “AM Joy” to a weekday primetime slot in 2020.
Rachel Maddow, Reid’s colleague at MSNBC, expressed worry over Reid’s exit, questioning the decision and the potential racial bias in removing non-white primetime hosts. “I am concerned about what this means for diversity at our network,” Maddow reportedly said, highlighting that both Reid and Alex Wagner, who is also leaving her primetime role, are women of color.
The cancellation of Reid’s show is part of a broader restructuring at MSNBC. The network is preparing to become a standalone, publicly traded company, separate from parent company Comcast and other NBCU cable networks. This transition will necessitate the development of an independent news-gathering infrastructure.
MSNBC’s production will be consolidated in New York and Washington, D.C., leading to the closure of Miami operations. This affects shows like “José Díaz-Balart Reports” and “The Katie Phang Show,” which are produced in Miami’s Telemundo Center. Reports suggest that Díaz-Balart will remain with NBC News as anchor of “Weekend Nightly News,” while Phang will continue with MSNBC as a legal correspondent.
Additional changes to MSNBC’s primetime lineup include the movement of former White House press secretary for President Biden, Jen Psaki, to the 9 p.m. slot Tuesday through Friday. Rachel Maddow will revert to hosting only on Mondays at 9 p.m., after temporarily hosting five nights a week during the first 100 days of the Trump administration.
Since the 2024 election, MSNBC has seen fluctuating ratings. Post-Trump’s victory, the network’s viewership reportedly dropped around 46% compared to the first 10 months of 2024. However, recent data indicates an 86% increase in primetime ratings since Trump’s inauguration in January.
The termination of Reid’s show has garnered attention from supporters and detractors alike. President Trump celebrated Reid’s exit on his Truth Social platform, while some media analysts have voiced concerns about a perceived decrease in diversity among the network’s primetime hosts.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Congolese father and a Guyanese mother, Reid holds a degree in film studies from Harvard University (1991). Her career in media spans several roles, including local news reporting in South Florida, radio talk show hosting, managing editor of the Grio, and politics columnist for the Miami Herald.
As part of the restructuring, MSNBC is planning its own Washington, D.C. bureau and is currently recruiting for key roles including bureau chief and heads of talent, news-gathering, and content strategy. These steps reflect MSNBC’s move towards operational independence as it separates from NBC News.
These changes at MSNBC coincide with a challenging period for cable news networks, grappling with an increasing trend of consumers cutting cable subscriptions. Although MSNBC currently outperforms CNN in viewership, it continues to trail Fox News, which has seen a ratings boost since the election.