MSNBC is bumping Ronan Farrow from anchor to correspondent, cancelling his midday show after months of dismal ratings.
MSNBC enjoyed the second highest ratings in cable news following President Obama's 2012 re-election, but has been suffering from a steadily shrinking viewership as of late. Since January 2014, the progressive cable network's daytime ratings have dropped 20 percent overall, and 37 percent in the key 25-54 demographic. On Feb. 4, Farrow notched the lowest ratings of his young career, with only 11,000 viewers between the age of 25 and 54.
In addition to Ronan Farrow Daily, MSNBC also cancelled former Miami Herald columnist Joy Reid's daytime news show, The Reid Report.
"The network could be borrowing a page from CNN," notes Variety senior television editor Brian Steinberg.
"Under [former NBC President and CEO] Jeff Zucker [CNN] has used daytime to drill down on select breaking-news events like plane crashes, troubled cruise ships and race riots and found its ratings on the upswing as a result. CNN has trumped MSNBC in the ratings for the last several months, with its New Day morning program winning more viewers in the advertiser-desired adults 25-54 demographic than MSNBC's Morning Joe.