MSNBC program heads to streamer

In what may be the most significant commitment of a big name talent to a streaming news service, Chuck Todd’s MSNBC program “Meet the Press Daily” is moving to NBC News Now.

Executives announced last week that the Washington-based program will be renamed “Meet the Press Now,” and will stream live at 4 p.m. Eastern on NBC News Now starting in early June, according to a memo obtained by The Times.

“Meet the Press,” the flagship Sunday roundtable program that has aired on NBC’s broadcast network since 1947, is not affected by the move. Todd, who is political director of NBC News, has been moderator of “Meet the Press” since 2014. The daily version has aired on MSNBC since 2015.

With the shutdown of CNN+ — which had signed former Fox News star Chris Wallace — Todd will be the most high-profile TV news talent to have a daily program on a streaming service.

NBC News Now is NBCUniversal’s free, ad-supported news service. The stream provides straight-ahead news coverage without the progressive-leaning opinion and commentary presented on MSNBC, especially in prime time.

“MTP Daily” will be replaced on MSNBC by an hour of news anchored by Chris Jansing, a 20-year veteran of the cable news channel. But the shift is likely to add to a growing perception that MSNBC’s future lies in being a talk and opinion channel. The channel’s next big hire is White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who is leaving her post in President Biden’s administration on Friday.

But NBC News executives say the move is more about having its news content on a free platform. NBCU News Group Chairman Cesar Conde has said having free access to live breaking news is a public service and should be accessible to all consumers.

Launched in 2019, NBC News Now has a monthly average of 100 million views and 30 million hours, according to the news division’s internal data.