MSNBC seems to be in the middle of a slow-motion implosion, starting with its biggest star, Rachel Maddow, reportedly taking a hefty pay cut. Maddow’s annual salary, once a staggering $30 million, is dropping to $25 million over the next three years—a notable concession for someone who only graces the airwaves one night a week. While some might argue that she’s still wildly overpaid, this reduction is a harbinger of what’s likely in store for her colleagues as MSNBC’s parent company, Comcast, prepares to spin off the network into its own entity. With new management looming, the days of inflated salaries for liberal talking heads may finally be numbered.
Comcast’s decision to cut ties with MSNBC hardly came as a shock. Network television, especially the kind pushing partisan diatribes, is increasingly seen as a sinking ship. Ratings for MSNBC have cratered, down 40% compared to last year, with a mere 65,000 viewers in the key 25-54 age demographic tuning in during primetime after the election. For a network built on catering to the most vocal corners of the #Resistance, its dwindling audience and aging viewer base are symptoms of a brand that seems to have worn out its welcome.
Adding insult to injury, MSNBC isn’t just losing viewers—it’s also gaining legal troubles. A $30 million defamation lawsuit from a Georgia doctor, who was falsely accused on-air of performing mass hysterectomies at an immigrant detention center, looms over the network. Insiders aren’t holding back, either, with one commentator reportedly describing MSNBC as a “giant circle jerk” full of Democratic propaganda that keeps viewers trapped in “fantasy land.” This critique isn’t just coming from outside critics; it seems even MSNBC’s own people are growing weary of their echo chamber’s tired shtick.
The network’s recent missteps haven’t helped its image. Liberal viewers were incensed when Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski visited Mar-a-Lago to “restart communications” with President-elect Trump. Meanwhile, conservatives blasted MSNBC for publishing a sympathetic headline about an illegal immigrant who murdered a college student. And if that wasn’t enough, Chris Hayes, who could double as a Maddow impersonator, gave an approving platform to baseless accusations that Trump’s Secretary of Defense nominee, Pete Hegseth, was a white supremacist. Even Democratic insiders like Michael LaRosa have had enough, with LaRosa admitting this kind of rhetoric is exactly why the left keeps losing elections.
MSNBC’s woes are piling up at a speed its dwindling audience probably isn’t prepared for. From tanking ratings to internal dissent and costly lawsuits, the network seems to be teetering on the edge of irrelevance. With new management eager to “right-size” salaries and a reputation increasingly tarnished, the future looks grim for a network once hailed as the voice of the left. For now, it appears MSNBC’s days of unchecked self-indulgence are coming to an end, and not a moment too soon.
