When you’re losing to a train wreck like the left-wing CNN, something drastic needs to change and a according to the Wrap, change in the form of a bloodbath is coming to third-place MSNBC. Currently, network president Phil Griffin’s ax is hanging over daytime anchors Joy Reid and Ronan Farrow, and primetime anchor Chris Hayes.
In January, [Chris Hayes] finished third behind Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” and CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360″ in both total viewers and the demo. Among MSNBC shows, he finished third, behind Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews. But Hayes’ struggles haven’t only impacted the 8 p.m. timeslot. Maddow’s 9 p.m. program has also slumped partly due to its weaker lead-in. In January, “The Rachel Maddow Show” was down 50 percent in the demo year over year. …
Ronan [Farrow] and Joy [Reid] — something has to change there,” another insider told TheWrap, adding that many within MSNBC believe one of the two — Farrow at 1 p.m. Reid at 2 p.m. — will see their shows canceled soon. The duo, who debuted on Feb. 24, 2014, have been major contributors to MSNBC’s daytime woes.
Last week, Farrow, 27, attracted just 26,000 viewers in the demo on Wednesday — finishing fourth behind HLN, CNN and Fox News. Reid’s program — which parted ways with executive producer Larry Epstein toward the end of last year and recently appointed Farrow’s Senior Producer Omnika Thompson to EP — has also struggled, partly because of the Farrow lead-in. On Thursday, it attracted just 36,000 demo viewers.
Griffin is hoping to stop the bleeding when the dying patient is really MSNBC itself. The format of left-wing talk radio with pictures mixed with confirmation bias is tired and boring.
Morning Joe is in big ratings trouble. Ed Schultz is imploding. Since losing Chuck Todd to “Meet The Press” and replacing him with Jose Diaz-Balart, the impact of the “The Daily Rundown” on the day’s news cycle has vanished completely.
MSNBC is also dealing with CNN president Jeff Zucker’s decision to steal MSNBC viewers by turning his failing network even further to the political left than MSNBC. CNN has become a network driven by race-baiting, GOP-bashing, and Christian-hating. Leftist’s looking for a fix are almost always going to find a better high at CNN.
How is MSNBC supposed to compete with a CNN screaming RACISM 24/7 into the left’s sweet spot?
Griffin’s other problem is that unless he switches up his vision for MSNBC, it is highly unlikely a new host will solve the problem.
Leftists talking to Leftists about how absolutely correct Leftists are about everything is pretty dull stuff regardless of who is spewing it.
John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC