Shortly before Comcast confirmed a The Wall Street Journal report about the spinoff of MSNBC, CNBC and other cable properties into a new entity, Morning Joe co-hosts J0e Scarborough And Mika Brzezinski awkwardly joked that they could be fired next year or even tomorrow.

What was clearly intended as a slight moment of confidence came across as an awkward acknowledgment of an uncomfortable reality, one that may ultimately prove prescient. Serious questions about the viability of the progressive network remain unanswered, and it is now facing increased scrutiny from a new group of leaders eager to right a ship that has seriously struggled over the past few years. recent months.

Not long ago, MSNBC was rise high on the almost total coverage of the former president that of Donald Trump a financial fraud trial earlier this year. For most of the past decade, the opinion network has devoted nearly all of its programming to warning of the consequences of Trump’s empowerment.

Of course, just three weeks ago Trump was re-elected, and now, judging by his sharp drop in gradesMSNBC’s once-passionate audience left in droves. Apathy and/or acceptance of a new normal has led to a dramatic decrease in viewership. Combined with the existential threat of cord cutters and a staggering drop in cable providers’ subscription fees for set-top boxes, the future doesn’t look so rosy.

So, in this context, the relatively sudden, almost rushed, announcement that Comcast was washing its hands of this business model seems much less like a business opportunity for growth than an attempt to shed a business model that seems doomed to decline.

The extremely practical Comcast CEO Brian Roberts appeared to demonstrate how he would welcome a potentially aggressive Trump administration when his legal director, Tom Reid, released a statement regarding Trump’s nomination of the commissioner Brendan Carr as chairman of the FCC:

Commissioner Carr’s successful track record at the FCC and extensive knowledge of the communications industry are critical to the continued success of America’s digital future. We congratulate him on his nomination and congratulate President-elect Trump on his choice. We applaud Commissioner Carr’s continued leadership on important issues such as broadband investment and deregulation and look forward to working with him and the rest of the Commission to maintain our country’s leadership in global communications.

Carr is a controversial named in progressive circles for various reasons – namely his working on the FCC chapter for the 2025 project — but this statement makes it clear that Roberts wants nothing to do with Trump’s hostility. Critics (like the usual talking heads on MSNBC) may say this shows cowardice, but a much more charitable description is “even-handed pragmatism.”

If the Newspaper‘s report If Comcast spinning off MSNBC and its other cable properties were to happen at almost any other time, it would seem like standard M&A-style operating procedure. But add in the terrible ratings since the election and more than four years of progressive programming that now seems remarkably out of touch and divisive in hindsight and, suddenly, the value proposition of MSNBC programming no longer seems particularly valuable.

It is therefore difficult not to see this moment as a end of century for MSNBC and perhaps for the cable news industry in general. Is this the death knell teased by the title? Who knows! And yes, that’s a bit of hyperbole that shouldn’t be viewed with schadenfreude. There are hundreds of smart, hard-working people who work at MSNBC and its competitors; a threat to their livelihoods should not be ridiculed or taken lightly.

Based on early reports of discussions within the network, I don’t know many details about what this spinoff will entail, but neither does anyone else. Variety Brian Steinberg revealed details that should give no confidence to MSNBC’s current base. Steinberg explain how the manager of the new entity, Marc Lazarerecently met with some A-list talent and was unable to answer some basic questions about what was going to happen. Steinberg wrote:

The cable news outlet may need to consider changing its familiar name and branding in a spin-off of the bulk of cable assets from parent company Comcastone of the fledgling company’s new top executives suggested to a gathering of MSNBC staffers Wednesday morning, according to two people familiar with the gathering.

Lazarus told an audience including Rachel Maddow, Chris Jansing And Katy Tur that it was unclear whether MSNBC would have to change its identity as part of the deal, which would split the cable network and its business news sibling CNBC from NBC News and NBCUniversal. If the two networks are no longer part of the NBC corporation, participants wanted to know, will they still be able to carry the brands that are part of their former home?

Steinberg also revealed that during the meeting, “Lazarus described the new company as ‘a well-funded start-up,'” these people said, and indicated that the new entity would have a presence in Manhattan, but noted that executives weren’t sure at the time. present where the company would be based.

These details do not suggest that there is a well-developed plan. In fact, they suggest a hasty, ill-considered, and reactive decision to immediately distance themselves from an anti-Trump network just months before he was sworn in. The report that the new company has the fictitious name “SpinCo” makes it seem like it was ripped straight out of an episode of 30 Rock. Honestly, why not go all out and name the parent company Scheinhardt Wigs?

MSNBC has had a terrible, horrible, not good, very bad few weeks. Those that await us do not look any better for a network which has placed itself in a partisan position and which is today paying the price.

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