By Liam Reilly, CNN

New York (CNN) — Rachel Maddow is returning to the anchor chair five nights a week.

The MSNBC prime time star is expanding her on-air presence for the first 100 days of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, the network announced Monday, injecting what may be a much-needed ratings boost into the progressive outlet’s lineup.

Maddow’s show, MSNBC’s highest rated program, has only aired once a week since 2022 when she stepped away to focus on other projects, including films, books and podcasts. Her temporary return to the anchor desk weeknights at 9 p.m. ET will see Alex Wagner, who currently anchors the timeslot Tuesday through Friday, deployed on special assignment to cover the impact of the president-elect’s policies.

Starting next week, Wagner’s coverage will be featured across MSNBC’s shows and platforms, the network said. Maddow will also lead the network’s live special inauguration coverage on Jan. 20.

“The moment we’re in requires us to cover the early days of the new administration from all over the country — from the nation’s capital, where policy is being implemented, to talking to those in key communities and constituencies impacted by those policies,” MSNBC President Rashida Jones said in a statement. “No one is better equipped to bring those stories from the field to MSNBC viewers than our intrepid Alex Wagner.”

In an interview with USA Today, Maddow said the decision to shuffle the network’s prime time schedule was made by Jones, adding that Wagner “has been itching to get out there in the country and to cover what’s coming and the impact of what Trump is going to do in the second term on the ground, from a front-line perspective.” After the 100-day window, there will be a “hard stop,” Maddow said, with both returning to their previous schedules.

Maddow’s weeknight return comes as cable news networks have seen a downturn in viewership, including in prime time. While Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN all enjoyed a bump in ratings during 2024, all three have seen audience drops since the November election. Though news fatigue is a regular occurrence every four years after the presidential contest, the trend has exacerbated ongoing declines across the cable industry.

Following the election, MSNBC’s parent company, Comcast, announced it would spin off most of its cable channels, including the cable news network, into a distinct, publicly traded company referred to as “SpinCo.” The move, which sheds cable channels that have seen their value decline in the streaming age, signaled an inflection point for the media industry as consumers continue to cut the cord.

At MSNBC, harnessing Maddow’s star power five nights a week may not prove to be a panacea for all its difficulties but executives are banking on it to help buoy the progressive network’s viewership.

“There’s a sort of head-in-the-sand wish casting that’s happening with a lot of people checking out of the news, thinking ‘If I don’t hear about it, if I don’t look at it, then maybe it’s not happening,’” Maddow told USA Today. “But people know that’s not actually the way to stop it from happening. If this shambolic transition is anything to go on, the second Trump term is going to affect a lot of Americans, and they’re going to want to pay attention.”

The-CNN-Wire
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