THE BLAZE
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow took a pay cut of $5 million after re-negotiating her contract since the devastating election, according to a report in the Ankler.
The decision might have related to a bombshell announcement made by Comcast, which owns MSNBC, on Wednesday that it would spin off some cable channels in order to freshen up its lineup by the end of 2025. Some saw the move as evidence that consumer “cord-cutting” of cable services was forcing the company to make some critical decisions.
Another executive described Maddow as ‘ratings Viagra.’
“This is a difficult time and they needed to keep her,” said one executive. “No one else can do what she does. You can’t build a brand like it overnight.”
Ratings have dropped precipitously after the resounding victory for Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump. In response, the hosts of “Morning Joe” announced that they met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after years of accusing him of being worse than Hitler. Some of their viewers have turned against them for the decision.
“I assume now that the Democrats have lost to the greatest threat we’ve ever faced as a nation that they will be forthright in acknowledging, one, the Democrats’ role in this catastrophic defeat and, two, the bleak hellscape we now face,” said Jon Stewart after skewering the show’s hosts.
Maddow said before the election that she was worried Trump might toss her into a massive camp alongside the migrants he planned to round up if he won.
A spokesperson for MSNBC declined to comment about the report.
Another executive described Maddow as “ratings Viagra” to explain why she was so important to the network’s lineup.
Despite the large cut in pay, Maddow will still rake in $25 million from her re-negotiated contract.
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