MSNBC Names Alex Wagner as Tues-Fri Replacement For Rachel Maddow In Effort to Boost Sagging Ratings

MSNBC has named Alex Wagner as a Tuesday-Friday replacement for Rachel Maddow in an effort to boost the network’s sagging ratings.

Maddow will continue to appear on Mondays in the 9 p.m. time slot while Wagner will over the other four days beginning Aug. 16, rather than the current rotating host format.

As the Los Angeles Times noted, not having Maddow on daily has hurt MSNBC’s prime-time ratings.

The 9 p.m Eastern hour is down 30% from the previous year, averaging just 1.8 million viewers in 2022, according to data from Nielsen.

Viewership among ages 25 to 54, the demographic most important to advertisers who buy news programming, has reportedly declined 40%.

Wagner tweeted about her new position, “I am absolutely thrilled and honored and generally upside down with excitement to come back home to @MSNBC to host the 9PM hour, beginning August 16th. LET’S DO THIS”

I am absolutely thrilled and honored and generally upside down with excitement to come back home to @MSNBC to host the 9PM hour, beginning August 16th. LET'S DO THIS https://t.co/bgJAcmuDtt

— alexwagner (@alexwagner) June 27, 2022

Maddow then declared in a quote tweet of Wagner, “Woooooooooot! Fantastic news! Let’s do this!”

Wagner responded in a quote tweet of Maddow, “I’d say they broke the mold, but that would imply that anyone but @maddow is behind her brilliance and intelligence and kindness and general butt kickingness. See ya at 30 Rock sis.”

I’d say they broke the mold, but that would imply that anyone but @maddow is behind her brilliance and intelligence and kindness and general butt kickingness. See ya at 30 Rock sis https://t.co/CY6akrJPhr

— alexwagner (@alexwagner) June 27, 2022

Last year, Maddow extended her contract with NBCUniversal through 2024, after previously being signed through this year.

Wagner hosted an MSNBC daytime show from 2011 to 2015 after regularly appearing as a political analyst and she rejoined the network as a senior political analyst and guest anchor in February.