Van Susteren began hosting a Washington-based 6 p.m. weeknight show at MSNBC on Jan. 9, joining the network after her 14-year run at Fox News Channel ended last summer following a financial disagreement. Before joining Fox, she had her own show at CNN. But with the Fox and MSNBC audiences usually diametrically opposed, it proved a poor fit.
Greta Van Susteren Out As MSNBC Host
NEW YORK (AP) — Greta Van Susteren’s stop at a third cable news network proved to be short. MSNBC said Thursday that she’s out after less than six months at the network, to be replaced by Ari Melber.
Van Susteren began hosting a Washington-based 6 p.m. weeknight show at MSNBC on Jan. 9, joining the network after her 14-year run at Fox News Channel ended last summer following a financial disagreement. Before joining Fox, she had her own show at CNN.
But with the Fox and MSNBC audiences usually diametrically opposed, it proved a poor fit. MSNBC has had its best ratings in network history in 2017, but Van Susteren hasn’t shared in the riches. It was the least-watched show on MSNBC between 5 p.m. and midnight both Monday and Tuesday of this week, according to the Nielsen company.
On Monday, for example, MSNBC’s “Meet the Press Daily” at 5 p.m. had 970,000 viewers, and Van Susteren’s show dipped to 797,000. When Chris Matthews’ “Hardball” started at 7 p.m., the network’s audience jumped to 1.45 million, Nielsen said.
The show is ending despite the public backing of Van Susteren’s friend and MSNBC’s most popular host, Rachel Maddow.
Van Susteren tweeted “I’m out at MSNBC” before MSNBC made its announcement Thursday afternoon. She had no immediate comment about the ouster.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
In a note to staff, MSNBC President Phil Griffin called Van Susteren “a well-regarded television veteran and one of only a few broadcasters who can say they’ve hosted shows at all three major cable news networks. We are grateful to her and wish her the best.”
A lawyer like Van Susteren, Melber is MSNBC’s chief legal correspondent and hosts a weekend show, “The Point.” He’ll begin as permanent 6 p.m. host sometime next month, Griffin said.
Comments (7)
Cheryl Thorne says:
June 30, 2017 at 7:06 am
She’s a nice lady and must have gone home each night and threw up after she realized what she had done!!! Must have been Torture working with those despicable hacks!!
Matt Hortobagyi says:
June 30, 2017 at 9:11 am
Big Mistake
Tom Hardin says:
June 30, 2017 at 12:00 pm
When one works in the Swamp, one gets dirty. She is too nice to become a bottom feeder like the rest of MSPMS.
I keep wondering why Comcast even keeps MSNBC alive. But with their constant, false attacks on Trump, their ratings and $$$ have increased as the desperate left, antifa, elites continue to waste their $$$ on useless efforts…
Joe Jaime says:
June 30, 2017 at 3:45 pm
This was never a good fit for either.
John Livingston says:
June 30, 2017 at 11:37 pm
I thought that this wasn’t going to work out. I thought that Greta should have gone back to CNN maybe she go’s back to CNN.
kelly mcgoldrick says:
July 1, 2017 at 1:42 pm
Greta is way too good for a liberal station.
Andrea Rader says:
July 1, 2017 at 2:44 pm
This development shouldn’t be surprising. Greta, like Megyn Kelly, was only of fleeting value to moderates and liberals as disruptive forces within FNC, and they burned their bridges with the FNC demographic. What you’re left with for an audience base is very small, as NBC is quickly finding out.