MSNBC Begging Rachel Maddow to Make a Full-time Return to the Anchor Desk: Report
MSNBC hopes bringing Rachel Maddow back to air full-time will help improve ratings.
MSNBC is hemorrhaging prime-time viewers so the struggling network is reportedly begging their most successful host, Rachel Maddow, to return full-time to increase ratings, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Sources claimed the network is hoping the move will "save them" amid deteriorating viewership.
MSNBC agreed to a $30 million contact with Maddow that reduced her show to a weekly slot.
"Viewers are dumping them at an alarming rate — nearly a 33% drop off," a tipster told the National Enquirer. "They're in big trouble and pleading with Rachel to return full-time to save them."
Maddow's weekly show continues to dominate Monday nights and stomping out the competition, including Fox News powerhouse Sean Hannity's program, with a substantial lead of half a million viewers tuning in.
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MSNBC's ratings have taken a drastic hit, reportedly dropping 33% as of late.
"When Rachel's new deal with MSNBC was announced, no one could believe it," a top TV insider told the outlet. "She got more to do less."
"Giving her $30 million a year for one show each week makes no sense at all," the source added.
"Their only solution, at least in the short term, is to bring her back five days a week and try to build a network around her."
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Sources said Maddow's new deal for more money and less work made 'no sense.'
While the TV insider suggested more Maddow was the only way for MSNBC to climb out of its low-ratings hole, other sources revealed that the 50-year-old host is too busy promoting her latest book, Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism, to make a full-time return to the anchor desk.
Maddow is reportedly perfectly content with her new schedule as well as her significant compensation. The news host allegedly has no plans to change her new day-to-day anytime soon or amp up her workload with MSNBC.
Maddow reportedly has no plans to change her current schedule anytime soon.
While it's hard to blame Maddow, or anyone in her position, for not wanting to take on more work than what was agreed to her in her $30 million contract. The controversial agreement sent shockwaves through the network.
Those who managed to make it out of MSNBC's mass firing earlier this year, which reportedly laid off 70 staffers, were not pleased to learn that the star anchor was pocketing a hefty paycheck while lower-level and behind-the-scenes employees faced the brunt of low ratings.
"Rachel has gone from being the hero of the network to the most hated," an insider dished back in January. "People in TV are not rich. The hosts are rich. Everyone else is struggling to pay their rents and raise their families."
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