MSNBC is reportedly making some cost-saving measures. Amid plummeting ratings, the network is slashing Rachel Maddow's salary. The news personality will reportedly be bringing in $5 million less a year following the cut.
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This comes as Comcast is making some hard decision regarding the network and its other cable properties. Up until this point, Maddow reportedly brought in $30 million a year for hosting The Rachel Maddow Show. What surprises me is that she only hosts one day a week. I write 5 days a week, and I'm not bringing in anywhere close to a million. So that's a large chunk of change for putting your face on TV.
Maddox will still be bringing in $25 million for the next five years, according to the Ankler. So it's less than she's making now, but still probably more than most people make in their lifetimes. "This is a difficult time and they needed to keep her," one executive told the news site. "No one else can do what she does. You can't build a brand like it overnight."
MSNBC Cuts Rachel Maddow's Salary
Other sources dispute this amount but declined to say what the pay cut was. Rachel Maddox's salary cut comes after a decline in ratings for MSNBC. Comcast is considering spinning off its cable channels. MSNBC may lose its name and headquarters as well as have layoffs.
Ratings have tanked 54% after the presidential election. To put it in perspective, ratings are down 40% from this time 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-k and echo chamber. If MSNBC wants to be of service to its viewers, they can't keep them in fantasy land."
Meanwhile, CNN is reportedly considering its own layoffs.
"There are a lot of other media and platforms or TV channels. So the situation is easier for the big stars compared to the other journalists and the production workers," an 18-year veteran of CNN told The U.S. Sun. "I have been feeling frustration and tensions in the star hosts, like Anderson Cooper, Jack Tapper, and Erin Burnett, for example. And some of them have been fed up with the situation for a bit now."
The journalist also added, "From the journalists and the production workers, everyone is scared. And trying to see what could happen next, to anticipate the inevitable. It's a sinking ship. And we know many of us will be out of here in the next few weeks or months."
