MSNBC star anchor Rachel Maddow's annual salary was cut by $5 million amid plummeting ratings at the cable television network and parent company Comcast's decision to spin off several of its cable channels.
The Ankler reported Thursday that Maddow renegotiated for a $25 million annual salary for the next five years for hosting "The Rachel Maddow Show" on Mondays. She had been raking in $30 million.
She will also reportedly be producing podcasts and documentaries for the network.
"This is a difficult time and they needed to keep her," one executive told The Ankler. "No one else can do what she does. You can't build a brand like it overnight."
Another executive described the liberal political commentator as "ratings Viagra."
MSNBC also plans to use Maddow as a "secret weapon" on other shows when there's breaking news to report, The Ankler added.
Maddow's pay reduction comes amid Comcast's corporate reorganization that will see most of its cable networks split off into a separate company by the end of next year.
In a move seen as an acknowledgment that streaming is considered the future, the shakeup at Comcast means that CNBC, MSNBC, USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and the Golf Channel will no longer have any corporate connection to NBC News.
Breaking from NBC could force MSNBC to change a number of things, including its name, logo and headquarters, and could lead to layoffs.
Since President-elect Donald Trump trounced Vice President Kamala Harris, MSNBC's ratings have reportedly plunged 54%, with Nielsen data showing that ratings are down 40% from the same time period last year.
"We were so Harris propaganda that when she lost, viewers were shocked," one on-air commentator told The Ankler. "It turned into one giant circle j*** and echo chamber. If MSNBC wants to be of service to its viewers, they can't keep them in fantasy land."
A source with knowledge of the matter said the network's producers are trying to figure out how to move forward as the "only safe space for a liberal TV audience."
MSNBC hosted "Democrats who speak Republican" during Trump's first administration, the source said, but the network is unsure how to deal with the "Star Wars freak show" of the president-elect's new executive branch nominees.
"I don't know if having these people on would put any useful information out," the source told The Ankler.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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