MSNBC’s month of chaos from Steve Kornacki exit to Joy Reid’s firing as execs make major lineup changes in network split

MSNBC is making massive lineup changes, as one of its top data analysts is confirmed to be leaving the network.

Host Steve Kornacki, popular for his analysis of election results on MSNBC, announced he will remain with NBC News instead of following MSNBC to its new platform.

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MSNBC confirmed Steve Kornacki will be leaving the networkCredit: Getty

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The announcement follows the network’s firing of host, Joy ReidCredit: MSNBC

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MSNBC has been going through a major restructuring as it plans to separate from NBCCredit: Alamy
Kornacki, 45, will continue to analyze major sporting events on NBC Sports, such as the Olympics, NFL, and Triple Crown.

“We are happy that Steve will continue in his role at NBC Sports,” an NBC Sports spokesperson told The U.S. Sun.

However, he will leave behind his full-time MSNBC analyst slot, which he’s held since 2013, for a contributing slot on NBC News.

As Kornacki leaves the network, current NBC correspondent Antonia Hylton will join MSNBC full-time.

Hylton will start her new role as a co-host on MSNBC’s show The Weekend: Primetime.

An NBC press release called this new hire a “major, massive deal for MSNBC.”

The shocking announcement comes just one month after the network blindsided MSNBC host Joy Reid.

An audio recording of Reid, who has been an anchor at MSNBC since 2014, being let go by the newly appointed network president, Rebecca Kutler, was leaked in February.

In the audio clip, one employee said the layoffs were a “terrible, terrible way to learn about our fate,” Status reported.

Kutler promised that over 100 jobs would be posted, offering new journalistic opportunities for those laid off.

Reid thanked her fans for their support in a statement on X.

MSNBC host Steve Kornacki exits network for new job in latest staff shakeup after Joy Reid firing and president’s exit
“I just want to say thank you to everyone who has reached out with kindness and encouragement, both personally and in these social media streets,” she wrote.

“So very proud of The Reidout team, who are truly family, and all of our supporters and friends.

“See you tomorrow night at 7, one more time.”

Heartbroken followers said they will follow the host, calling her firing a “big mistake by MSNBC.”

“Love you, Joy. Wherever you are, I will follow. Big mistake by MSNBC. Huge,” said one fan.

BIG CHANGES

The chaotic lineup changes follow the network’s bold announcement in November 2024 to create a spin-off network, SpinCo.

This network will make MSNBC, along with CNBC, the USA Network, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and the Golf Channel, part of a separate publicly traded company.

NBC wrote in a statement that the “new company [will] provide world-class news, sports, and entertainment with significant scale and resources.”

“This transaction positions both SpinCo and NBCUniversal to play offense in a changing media landscape,” Mike Cavanagh, President of Comcast said in the statement.

“Taken together, the entirety of NBCUniversal will be on a new growth trajectory, fueled by our world-class content, technology, IP, properties and talent – all working in concert with each other as an integrated media company.”

Two months after the company made the announcement, Rashida Jones, the network’s president, announced she was leaving.

Jones, who made history in 2021 by becoming the first Black executive to lead a major US TV news network, stepped down in January.

“I came to this decision over the holidays while reflecting on our remarkable journey and the many successes we’ve achieved together as a team,” she wrote in a memo to her staff.

“This has been the most rewarding chapter of my professional career and I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished, which has been made possible only by you.”