MS NOW just ripped the band-aid off. The network formerly known as MSNBC announced its first sweeping schedule overhaul since rebranding and spinning out of NBCUniversal under the Versant Media Group umbrella,
and the changes touch nearly every hour of the broadcast day. Network president Rebecca Kutler dropped the news during an editorial call on March 18, with the new lineup set to roll out in June, just in time for midterm election season.
The headline move: Morning Joe is losing an hour. Stephanie Ruhle is leaving late night for mornings. Ali Velshi is taking over The 11th Hour. And Ana Cabrera, who has anchored the 10 a.m. block since joining from CNN in 2023, is walking out the door entirely.
This is not a cosmetic tweak. It is the most significant programming shake-up at the network in years, and it sends a clear signal about where Kutler sees opportunity, and where she sees dead weight.
Morning Joe Gets Trimmed Back To Three Hours
The biggest symbolic change is Morning Joe shrinking from four hours to three. Starting in June, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski will anchor from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, with Jonathan Lemire co-hosting the final hour and Willie Geist staying on the program. The show had expanded to four hours in a previous era, but insiders say the grueling schedule was wearing on its hosts. One network source told Fox News Digital that four hours of linear TV simply does not make sense in 2026, while another suggested Scarborough and Brzezinski were never particularly enthusiastic about that last hour anyway.
MS NOW framed the contraction as a strategic pivot rather than a demotion, emphasizing that the Morning Joe team still anchors more hours than any other cable news program. The network also pointed to plans for a direct-to-consumer membership product where Morning Joe will play a central role, alongside expansion of the show’s digital footprint through its newsletter, podcast, and YouTube presence. Whether that is genuine forward-looking strategy or corporate spin for giving your marquee hosts less airtime is a question viewers can judge for themselves.
Stephanie Ruhle Swaps Late Night For The Opening Bell
Ruhle is making one of the most dramatic moves in the reshuffle, leaving The 11th Hour at 11 p.m. to anchor a brand new two-hour morning program from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET. The show will focus on the intersection of money, politics, and power, leaning into Ruhle’s background as the network’s senior business analyst. MS NOW says the new program will incorporate elements from The 11th Hour along with segments from her “Nightcap” franchise.
The logic here is not hard to follow. Ruhle’s business journalism chops are being deployed where they arguably have the most impact: right when markets open and the economic news cycle is at its most active. It is a move that positions MS NOW to compete more directly with CNBC’s morning programming for that coveted audience of politically engaged viewers who also care about their portfolios.
Velshi Gets The 11th Hour, Soboroff Goes West
With Ruhle vacating the late night desk, Ali Velshi steps in to host The 11th Hour. Velshi has been anchoring weekend programming from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET, so the move represents a significant promotion to a higher-profile weeknight slot. His weekend slot will be taken over by Jacob Soboroff, who celebrated the news on social media, calling it a mind-blown moment. Soboroff’s weekend show will notably be the network’s first program based out of Los Angeles, a detail that suggests MS NOW is thinking about geographic diversification as it builds its identity apart from the legacy NBC News infrastructure in New York and Washington.
Ana Cabrera Departs, Jansing Moves To Reporting
The most notable exit in the overhaul is Ana Cabrera, who announced her departure in a social media video posted shortly before the network’s official announcement. Cabrera had anchored the 10 a.m. to noon block. She joined the network from CNN in late 2022 and expanded to a two-hour slot last year when José Díaz-Balart’s block was discontinued ahead of the Versant spinoff.
In her video, Cabrera framed the move as her own decision, saying she has always sought the best opportunities to have the greatest impact while staying true to her mission as a journalist. She confirmed she will remain at the anchor desk for a few more months before departing and teased future plans without specifics.
Chris Jansing, who currently anchors the noon to 2 p.m. slot, is also leaving the anchor desk but staying at the network. She will take on the role of chief political reporter, a position with significant visibility heading into the 2026 midterm elections. It is a notable shift, taking one of the network’s most experienced journalists out of the studio and putting her in the field at a moment when political reporting is at a premium.
The Weeknight Gets A New Face, Primetime Stays Mostly Intact
Alicia Menendez is moving from her co-hosting role on The Weeknight to anchor a new solo show in the noon to 2 p.m. slot, replacing Jansing. Taking her place on The Weeknight at 7 p.m. is Luke Russert, who had been working as a fill-in anchor, joining Symone Sanders-Townsend and Michael Steele as a permanent co-host.
Another change worth flagging: Chris Hayes will return to anchoring the 8 p.m. hour on Mondays, which means The Weeknight will no longer air an extended two-hour block at the start of the week. Beyond that, primetime is largely untouched. Rachel Maddow holds her Monday 9 p.m. slot. Jen Psaki keeps The Briefing Tuesday through Friday at 9 p.m. Lawrence O’Donnell stays at 10 p.m. Katy Tur and Nicolle Wallace also remain in their afternoon positions.
The 11 a.m. to noon slot remains vacant for now, with MS NOW saying a new anchor will be announced at a later date. The network is also dropping the “Reports” branding that had been used across its dayside programming, though a replacement name has not been revealed.
What This Really Means For MS NOW
This overhaul is about more than shuffling chairs. It is the first real statement of editorial direction from Rebecca Kutler since MS NOW became an independent operation under Versant. The spinoff, completed in January 2026, gave the network autonomy from NBC News for the first time in its history. Versant’s first earnings report revealed the parent company generated $6.69 billion in revenue in 2025, though that figure was down year over year, with advertising revenue dropping 9%. The company has been candid about the declining economics of linear TV and is betting its future on digital expansion, including a direct-to-consumer streaming platform for MS NOW that is currently in development.
The schedule changes clearly reflect that dual reality. On one hand, MS NOW is investing in its linear product by putting stronger talent in daytime slots where viewership has lagged behind primetime. On the other, the emphasis on digital expansion (Morning Joe’s podcast, newsletter, and YouTube growth were all cited in the announcement) suggests the network sees the future beyond the cable box. Kutler’s memo to staff struck an optimistic note, pledging that the network expects to have more people working at MS NOW by the end of 2026 than it does today.
The timing is deliberate. With 2026 midterm elections on the horizon, MS NOW needs a lineup that can drive audience engagement during what will be one of the most consequential election cycles in recent memory. Whether these moves accomplish that will become clear soon enough. The new schedule launches in June.