MSNBC political news analyst Alex Wagner will take over the network’s 9 p.m. time slot over four nights beginning August 16, replacing Rachel Maddow, who will anchor the time slot on Mondays, the network said.

The move completes the network’s makeover of the 9 p.m. hour after Maddow in May moved to a weekly schedule with shows on Monday. For the rest of the week, The Rachel Maddow Show has featured rotating guest hosts. Maddow had hosted the ratings-strong The Rachel Maddow Show daily since 2008.

Also: Rachel Maddow to Go on Hiatus

After a stint on MSNBC in the early 2010s, Wagner returned to the cable news network in February as a senior political analyst and guest anchor. Prior to that, Wagner served as co-host and executive producer of Showtime's political docuseries The Circus. She also served as a co-host of CBS This Morning: Saturday and as senior editor at The Atlantic. 

Along with appearing on Mondays, Maddow — who in 2021 signed a new deal with NBCUniversal and MSNBC ‚ will join MSNBC for special coverage, breaking news events and specials on MSNBC and streaming, the network said. ■

“Alex Wagner in the 9 p.m. hour was a clear choice,” MSNBC president Rashida Jones said in a statement. “Her unique perspective — built on more than two decades in journalism — and tenacious reporting in the U.S. and abroad will help our audiences contextualize what matters. I am looking forward to watching Alex thrive in MSNBC’s primetime lineup.“ ▪️

Rachel Maddow will take a hiatus from her MSNBC program, she announced at the top of the 9 p.m. The Rachel Maddow Show Monday. “I am going to take a little bit of time off from this show,” she told viewers. “I’m nervous about all of this. It’s a change in my life. But it’s all for the good.”

The hiatus is expected to start after her February 3 program and is expected to last until April, said the New York Times, though no return date has been specified. Maddow is expected to make occasional appearances on MSNBC during her time off. 

She also said a second hiatus may follow. 

Among her side projects, Maddow is working on a film based on her Bag Man podcast, about former VP Spiro Agnew. 

Maddow joined MSNBC in 2008, and The Rachel Maddow Show premiered that same year. ■

MSNBC on-air host Rachel Maddow revealed Wednesday that recently had minor surgery to remove a cancerous mole on her neck. 

The 48-year old of The Rachel Maddow Show said during her Wednesday night show that she had surgery in New York on Friday to remove the cancerous mole, which prompted her absence for the show since Oct. 1.

Read Also: Rachel Maddow Extends Contract with MSNBC

"I had a few days off because I had surgery at NYU Langone [Health] on Friday," said Maddow. “They‘re fantastic. They got it, they got all of it. I‘m good. I have clear margins, the whole thing."

She also encouraged her viewers to schedule doctor’s appointments to get their skin checked. “Even the skin cancers that are the deadliest skin cancers in this country … are way more treatable than they used to be, on one condition: that you get them early,” she said. ”You should get checked.”

Rachel Maddow has extended her contract with MSNBC and network parent NBCUniversal, a person familiar with the matter confirmed.

The multi-year deal includes Maddow's The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC as well as projects with NBCUniversal.

An MSNBC spokesperson declined to comment on the agreement.

The Rachel Maddow Show debuted on MSNBC in September 2008 and features the host and political commentator's take on current events.

Also Read: Court Won't Reinstate OAN Defamation Complaint Against MSNBC's Rachel Maddow

Maddow began appearing on MSNBC as a panelist in 2005 before being named an MSNBC political analyst in January 2008. Prior to the cable news net, she served as a host on Air America Radio as well as radio stations WRNX and WRSI, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and Northampton, Massachusetts, respectively.

Earlier in the month, the Daily Beast reported that Maddow was considering leaving the network.

CNN’s New Day morning news co-anchor Chris Cuomo will test the primetime waters with CNN's launch of the Cuomo Prime Time series later this spring, CNN announced Wednesday. 

The series, which will feature Cuomo’s one-on-one interviews with politicians and newsmakers as well as analysis of the news of the day and breaking news, will air at 9 pm and go head-to head with cable news network ratings powerhouses in Fox News Channel’s Hannity and MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show. 

CNN’s John Berman will replace Cuomo as co-anchor of New Day alongside Alisyn Camerota, said the network.

Cuomo Prime Time will be sandwiched between AC360, hosted by Anderson Cooper, and CNN Tonight -- hosted by Don Lemon – as part of CNN’s primetime news lineup.

Fox News Monday officially announced the Oct. 30 launch of its new primetime news program The Ingraham Angle, starring conservative talk personality Laura Ingraham.

The series will debut in the daily 10 p.m. timeslot on the network, moving the Sean Hannity-hosted series Hannity to the 9 p.m. slot, where it will go head to head with MSNBC’s top rated series The Rachel Maddow Show.

Fox News talk show series The Five, which currently airs at 9 p.m., will move back to its former 5 p.m. time slot, according to Fox.

The move comes nearly two weeks after Fox News cancelled its 5 p.m. show The Fox News Specialists after that show's host Eric Bolling parted ways with the network after sexual harrassment allegations surrounding Bolling surfaced. 

 “We are delighted to unveil this new primetime schedule for both our current and future generation of loyal FNC fans,” said Suzanne Scott, Fox news president of programming in a statement. “Over the last decade, Laura’s extraordinary insight, expertise and strong voice have connected with our viewers across the network’s programming. We look forward to her providing the audience with her exceptional commentary, engaging insight and spirited debate.”

According to Fox News, The Ingraham Angle will feature Ingraham as she challenges decision makers to focus on everyday, hard-working Americans as well as highlight the importance of faith in our nation and reveal stories that showcase the American spirit.

The announcement comes as Fox News remains among the most watched networks on cable television. The network was the highest rated network in primetime this past summer and has either held or shared the top spot on the weekly primetime cable ratings charts for the last 16 weeks, according to Nielsen. 

Ad spending on national TV rose 0.9% in the first quarter, according to new figures from research company Standard Media Index.

The auto industry put the brakes on TV’s rate of growth, reducing its spending by 12.4% or about $143.6 million. Also cutting spending in the quarter was the consumer electronics industry, whose spending was down by $73.1 million, and the entertainment industry, down $69 million.

Categories that increased spending in the quarter included quick-service restaurants, up 12%, prescription drugs, up 17.1%, and insurance companies, up 10%.

Spending on cable was relatively flat, with SMI finding a -0.7% change from Q1 2016.

Among the best-performing cable programmers was Scripps Networks Interactive, whose HGTV was up 17.9%, Food Network was up 10.3%, and Travel Channel was up 16.5%. HGTV’s Fixer Upper generated 38.2% more revenue than a year ago. Discovery Channel was up 10%.

Related: The News Keeps Making News

Cable news also remained hot during the beginning of the Donald Trump administration. CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel together gained 16% in the quarter. But spending was down slightly from the fourth quarter, when the election was held.

Related: Fox News Channel Drops Bill O’Reilly

MSNBC is seeing the greatest gains, up 49.5% in spending, led by a jump in ratings for The Rachel Maddow Show.

Award-winning chef and restauranteur Tom Colicchio, best known on television for Bravo’s Top Chef, will now be working with another NBCUniversal cable network: MSNBC.

The cable news network has named Colicchio its first food correspondent, charged with creating original on-air and online programming focused on “the politics, power and personalities of our nation’s food,” MSNBC said. The move is part of MSNBC’s larger strategy to cover a broader set of stories while investing in more original reporting from the field.

Colicchio will produce original reports and in-depth videos for Morning Joe, The Rachel Maddow Show and other leading MSNBC daytime and primetime series. Online, he’ll host Stirring the Pot, a new weekly series on Shift, MSNBC's new digital video platform, that will include digital documentaries and conversations about food and its impact on our daily lives.

Additionally, Colicchio will conduct a series of exclusive interviews, dubbed Everyone Eats, with a wide range of newsmakers such as sports personalities, elected officials, actors and star chefs.

Bravo’s Emmy Award-winning culinary competition series, Top Chef, which launched in 2006, was Colicchio’s first venture into TV. Since then he has worked on several other projects for the network, including its newest food series, Best New Restaurant, which debuted Jan. 21. (See: "Tom Colicchio: Best New Restaurant Breaks Ground.")

Colicchio has appeared on MSNBC as an occasional guest discussing sustainable farming, food policy, combating hunger and his advocacy for healthy food. In 2012 he collaborated with national food policy leaders to cofound Food Policy Action, a group that holds legislators accountable on votes that have an effect on food and farming. He has also been an outspoken voice on GMO labeling, the use of antibiotics in food sources and better anti-hunger policies.

As MSNBC’s food correspondent he will cover topics ranging from intensive farming to school lunches, over-fishing and food stamps, the network said.

“There are few voices – if any – that are as passionate as Tom Colicchio is when talking about the food we eat and how it impacts our families and communities,” Phil Griffin, MSNBC president, said. “[I’m] thrilled that Tom’s fresh perspective will be integrated across all our platforms, from TV to Shift to social media.”

Colicchio is the founder of several noted restaurants, including New York’s Gramercy Tavern, Craft (2002) and Colicchio & Sons (2010). The original Craft won The James Beard Foundation Award for “Best New Restaurant” in 2002, the same year Colicchio received The Bon Appétit American Food and Entertaining Award for “Chef of the Year.” He has since opened several Craft spinoffs (including Craftbar and Craftsteak) and another upscale New York eatery, Riverpark.

“In today’s world it is impossible to separate our food culture from the politics and policies that shape our choices as consumers and taxpayers, whether we’re aware of them or not," Colicchio said. "The one thing we all have in common is that everyone eats, and I’m excited to partner with MSNBC on a show that fosters healthy dialogue and speaks to this basic common truth.”