Mediaite’s Joe Concha has more information on changes to MSNBC’s lineup beyond the Kate Snow to MSNBC scoop (Concha says she’s getting the 3-5 block) he broke last week…
Also of major note, Morning Joe will be expanded to a four-hour program (it’s currently three). Starting soon, the political roundtable show can be seen from 6 a.m. ET until 10. Note: With the 2016 race heating up, and the great political theater that has come with it and only promises to continue, it only makes sense to expand the network’s editorial page in the morning.
One notable causality to emerge from these moves is current 9-11 a.m. anchor José Díaz-Balart. With Morning Joe going to 10 a.m., Tamron Hall will then take over the 10-12 noon slot, thereby leaving Mr. Díaz-Balart as the odd man out.
Andrew Lack and MSNBC are apparently out of ideas. Morning Joe to four hours makes no sense at all. If it was performing well, as opposed to getting beat by New Day like it is now, I could maybe see an argument for it. But it isn’t. It’s lagging. There is no reason to add a fourth hour to a show that isn’t doing well with 3. Sorry Joe. I like you but you haven’t earned this.
Expanding Hall’s block by an hour would normally make sense to me but not the way it’s being done. They’re having her start at 10. Hall already co-anchors Today from 9-10. How is she going to transition from one show to another (on a different floor) in mere minutes? Theoretically I suppose it is technically feasible without altering anything but realistically the only way this would functionally work is if they scaled back Hall’s appearance time on Today. If I’m Hall I’m not happy with that possibility.
Even then, when is she supposed to prep for her show on MSNBC? During Today show commercial breaks? I know staff meetings happen hours earlier but do you really want your anchor essentially out of the loop on what’s going on for longer than an hour…the hour before her MSNBC show starts. That’s what MSNBC is basically signing up for. Can you imagine the crash prep that’s going to take place as Hall runs from the ground floor at 30 Rock to the 3rd floor where MSNBC is? This is really hinkey.
Both of these moves look ridiculously forced and the reason is probably what Concha touched upon…Jose Diaz-Balart seems to be out of a job at MSNBC. These moves seem to be more about getting him off the air and filling that space with whatever’s available than it does about the suitability of either of these moves. Like I said, it appears they’ve run out of ideas…
Filed under: MSNBC
