Your CNN account Log in to your CNN account After all, the network isn’t even confirming her new deal on the record… And as Variety’s Brian Steinberg wrote Sunday, “the network has no clear successor for her program.”Ībout all this, an MSNBC spokesperson declined to comment. That’s the story behind the story of this mega-deal. But at some point, she is going to shift gears. But it’s not good for you to work incessant long days, five days a week, 50 weeks a year for 10 years.” The Beast’s story about her contract talks pointed out that she “has occasionally dropped hints about professional burnout.” She told the NYT in 2019, “I’m realizing now – 10, 11 years into this – that it’s fine to work long days. A regular presence on TV gives Maddow relevancy – but also back pains. Among Maddow’s friends and associates, it’s no secret that she has mixed feelings about the grind of a live nightly program. This is where “scheduling flexibility” came into play. But NBCU simply could not afford to lose her. With her contract coming up for renewal, Maddow was aware of several viable alternatives, and took a close look at them, as The Daily Beast reported earlier this month. Maddow defines the MSNBC brand more than any single host on CNN or, I’d even argue, Fox News. The host who follows her, Lawrence O’Donnell, averaged 1.5 million. Maddow averaged 2.3 million viewers, making her MSNBC’s most popular host by a mile. Just look at last month’s cable news scoreboard. She is the “bedrock of the channel’s primetime lineup,” as THR’s Alex Weprin wrote. Maddow is starting her own production company that will bring its potential projects to NBCUniversal first.” In other words, a first-look deal… Here’s how Ben Mullin described it for the WSJ: The deal expands the scope of her portfolio at NBCU, “giving her the freedom to pursue a range of formats including film and TV series, according to a person familiar with the matter. And it’s easy to see why it was a win-win: A production deal across NBC’s businesses kept Maddow at MSNBC and made it easier to justify an eight-figure payday. One source described this as an “Endeavor-sized deal,” in a nod to Shapiro and Ari Emanuel’s agency. Maddow has many more ideas for dramas and other projects. NBCU’s Focus Features is already working on a feature film version of “Bag Man,” based on Maddow’s podcast and book of the same name. This sounds like a news business version of the entertainment showrunner deals that have proliferated across Hollywood.Īnd, critically, Maddow’s agreement is not limited to news. The key words in Shapiro’s statement were “a much broader deal.” Multiple sources confirmed that Maddow’s new contract will entail developing new projects across NBCU. A source familiar with the matter said that “her schedule isn’t changing.” But others said that Maddow will pull back from her daily program at some point, which will allow her to concentrate on other productions. When I called other sources to discuss this info, I was told that nothing is set in stone, and “The Rachel Maddow Show” is not going anywhere. The five-day-a-week show will come to an end sometime next year as Maddow shifts gears to more of a weekly format, according to two sources with knowledge of the deal.Ītkinson alluded to this on Sunday when she wrote, “Shapiro would not comment further and declined to say how much Maddow would be paid, saying only she would have more scheduling flexibility and will be expanding on her ideas.” More “scheduling flexibility” is a key component of the new contract. The agreement means that she will continue to host “The Rachel Maddow Show” weeknights at 9pm ET for the time being. Mark Shapiro of Endeavor, the talent agency that repped Maddow in the negotiation, told Atkinson that Maddow “is staying home where she belongs with a much broader deal at NBCUniversal and couldn’t be happier.” Maddow has signed a new multi-year deal with MSNBC’s parent NBCUniversal, as Insider’s Claire Atkinson first reported on Sunday. Rachel Maddow is staying at MSNBC – but not in the same role she has held for the past thirteen years. A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter.
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