Rachel Maddow has reached a deal with NBCUniversal to stay on MSNBC for a little longer. But she won’t be staying at the network in the 9 p.m. slot for more than another year or two.
Maddow was represented by Mark Shapiro from Endeavor, a talent agency, which handled negotiations. The agreement means that Maddow will continue hosting the hour-long program in her name for another year or so.
Then, Maddow will move to hosting a weekly-formatted program. Schedule flexibility was the primary driver in the decision, as well as expanded possibilities for other productions with her leadership.
The deal is far more expansive than just news. The entertainment and production portions of the new deal will allow Maddow and NBCUniversal to significantly expand its work with her fingerprints on it.
Maddow averaged 2.3 million viewers, which makes her MSNBC’s most-popular host by far.
One interesting tidbit with the deal, which a dollar amount was not announced, is that MSNBC has no long-term plan for her 9 p.m. time slot. There’s no ideal successor at MSNBC, or as others have pointed out, any competing network like CNN or Fox.
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