By Joe Flint
Five years after branding itself the "lean forward" cable news
network for liberals, MSNBC is taking a step back.
The channel is gutting the bulk of its daytime schedule of
partisan political talk in favor of straight news. Brian Williams,
who earlier this year was removed as anchor of NBC's "Nightly News"
for embellishing his reporting résumé, is expected to play a
prominent role in the makeover.
Also drafted to help jump start MSNBC is "Meet the Press" anchor
Chuck Todd, who will anchor a daily political news show in the
afternoons. Among the programs MSNBC is saying goodbye to: "The Ed
Show," anchored by Ed Schultz and "Now with Alex Wagner."
The overhaul, meant to reverse a ratings slump that has MSNBC in
last place among major cable news outlets, is being orchestrated by
Andy Lack, who ran NBC News from 1993 to 2001 and returned in March
as chairman.
The shift to hard news is part of a bigger strategy by Mr. Lack
to break down the wall that exists between the broadcast network's
news operations and MSNBC, a person familiar with his thinking
said.
"The decision to separate NBC News and MSNBC was a mistake and
the hiring of Mr. Lack is an indication of that," said Andrew
Tyndall, a TV news consultant.
In a memo to staff earlier this month on the plans for daytime,
MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in September "we'll unveil a 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule driven by dynamic coverage of breaking news
events that are shaping the day."
"Morning Joe," the network's political talk show that is popular
with Beltway insiders, will remain in place.
MSNBC, owned by Comcast Corp., has struggled for years to find
an audience during the day and at night. During some morning hours,
its audience is smaller than 50,000 people. Its total day average
audience through July of this year is 325,000 viewers, according to
Nielsen. In prime time, MSNBC has averaged 542,000 viewers.
That isn't even within shouting distance of 21st Century Fox's
Fox News, which is averaging one million viewers a day and 1.7
million in prime-time so far this year. Time Warner Inc.'s CNN,
which trailed MSNBC in prime time last year, is now ahead, with
550,000 viewers. (Until mid-2013, 21st Century Fox and Wall Street
Journal owner News Corp were part of the same company.)
MSNBC's ratings woes are hurting its ad sales, though not yet in
a big way. The channel will take in $217.2 million in advertising
revenue this year, down about 2% from $221.3 million last year,
according to industry consulting firm SNL Kagan. By comparison, in
2015 CNN is projected to have ad revenue of $330 million and Fox
$801.4 million
Like many cable channels, MSNBC is facing a turbulent
environment in which consumers are beginning to revolt over paying
for a big "bundle" of TV channels. Skinnier bundles are getting
more traction, while the ranks of "cord-cutters" are growing.
MSNBC is part of a much larger media giant: Comcast's
NBCUniversal unit also owns cable networks like USA, Bravo and E!
Because of that, MSNBC is somewhat insulated, and still enjoys
near-ubiquitous distribution in U.S. pay-TV households. But as
cord-cutting picks up, every second-tier channel will be forced to
justify its spot on the dial and the slice of monthly fees it
collects from cable providers paying to carry it.
Mr. Lack--who was hired in March to stabilize the NBC news unit,
which was reeling from the Williams controversy--told staffers at a
recent town-hall meeting that with regards to MSNBC it's "all hands
on deck" and "anybody can play."
That will require a culture shift. When MSNBC launched in 1996
(in partnership with Microsoft Corp., which exited the channel in
2005) the channel found hard to get NBC News talent to appear, and
that divide has remained.
"I recall having these awkward conversations trying to convince
NBC folks to come on," said Dan Abrams, a former general manager of
MSNBC and founder of the media-centric website Mediaite.
MSNBC's turn to political talk with a strong liberal slant made
some NBC journalists even more uncomfortable coming on.
Messrs. Lack and Griffin are betting that interest in the 2016
presidential election will provide a window for MSNBC to showcase
its hard-news chops. Doing hard news during the day will put MSNBC
in direct competition with CNN and Fox News.
"The challenge will be overcoming that," said Chris Geraci,
president of national broadcast investment for media buyer OMD.
Davidson Goldin, a former MSNBC executive in charge of breaking
news added that "old fashioned hard news during the day has never
been a recipe for competitive success at MSNBC."
In moving to Mr. Williams to MSNBC--which has no plans to change
its name--the hope is that one damaged brand can lift another. The
former anchor of NBC's "Nightly News" has been off the air since
February and is expected to return next month to report on the
pope's visit. Mr. Williams will cover breaking news for MSNBC and
be a highly visible presence on the network.
For now, MSNBC's evening approach of left-leaning talk will
remain intact but some of the personalities could change. Chris
Matthews and Rachel Maddow will remain centerpieces but "All In
with Chris Hayes" could be in jeopardy, said people familiar with
the network's thinking. A spokeswoman for MSNBC declined to
comment.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
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