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Stephanie Ruhle to Take Brian Williams’ 11 p.m. Slot at MSNBC, ‘Morning Joe’ Expands to 4 Hours

The Hollywood Reporter 1/27/2022 Trilby Beresford

MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle is set to succeed Brian Williams in the vacant 11 p.m. hour.

Ruhle will be leaving her current 9 a.m. slot on the cable news channel, with that hour of programming set to be absorbed by the flagship morning show Morning Joe, which presently airs from 6 to 9 a.m.

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MSNBC president Rashida Jones announced the changes in a memo to staff Thursday morning.

In the memo, Jones said that Ruhle would bring “her business acumen, hard-hitting interview style and original reporting to the viewers in that slot.”

As for Morning Joe: “This expansion will give us an opportunity to extend the reach of the program, which has become so well known for its signature perspective and analysis, as well as its news-making exclusive interviews with top lawmakers, senior government officials and thought leaders,” Jones wrote.

The channel is also in development on a streaming spinoff of Morning Joe called Morning Mika at Peacock.

Williams announced last November that he would leave NBCUniversal at the end of 2021 after nearly three decades with the company, which left the plumb hosting gig open.

MSNBC is in the midst of shaking up its roster following Williams’ exit, a shift toward streaming and star presenter Rachel Maddow’s decision to step aside from her 9 p.m. primetime show in favor of a less-intense TV on-air schedule at some point in the near future, as per her new long-term deal with the news network.

Earlier this month, MSNBC hired Symone Sanders, formerly chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, to host multiple programs, including a weekend program on the linear cable channel, and a show on its streaming platform, The Choice.

In October, Jonathan Lemire, who was most recently White House bureau chief for the AP, took over the 5 a.m. slot that was vacated by Kasie Hunt, who left MSNBC for CNN. The Lemire-fronted Way Too Early is also produced by the Morning Joe team.

Read Jones’ memo below.

All,

I’m delighted to share two significant programming updates that strengthen our lineup and set us up for success as we enter what is sure to be a consequential year.

Morning Joe, our premier morning program for the last 15 years, will be expanding to four hours, to 10 a.m. This expansion will give us an opportunity to extend the reach of the program, which has become so well known for its signature perspective and analysis, as well as its news-making exclusive interviews with top lawmakers, senior government officials and thought leaders.

Stephanie Ruhle, who had been anchoring the 9 a.m. slot, will take over as host of The 11th Hour, bringing her business acumen, hard-hitting interview style and original reporting to the viewers in that slot. Since joining MSNBC in 2016, Stephanie has been a staple of our dayside anchor team and a trusted voice on topics at the intersection of politics, finance and international business. In addition to bringing her decades-long experience to The 11th Hour, Stephanie will continue to appear across all platforms as NBC News Senior Business Analyst.

Please join me in congratulating the Morning Joe and The 11th Hour teams on these exciting new opportunities.

Rashida Jones

President, MSNBC

Alex Weprin contributed to this report.

This story was originally published at Jan. 26, 9:58 p.m.

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