MSNBC President Rashida Jones is stepping down from her role, the company announced on Tuesday—an unexpected shake-up at the network just days before President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration.
Rebecca Kutler, who has been serving as MSNBC’s senior vice president of content strategy, will replace Ms. Jones as interim president with immediate effect. Ms. Jones will remain in an advisory capacity until March.
“Rebecca is exactly the leader we need right now, and I’m eager to work with her on charting our collective path forward,” Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, wrote in a memo to employees.
Ms. Jones’s departure coincides with widespread challenges facing the cable news sector, which has experienced dwindling viewership in the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election. During this period, MSNBC has maintained its position as the second most-watched cable news channel, trailing Fox News but outpacing CNN.
Nevertheless, executives at MSNBC are optimistic that audiences will return once Mr. Trump takes office, as viewers tune in to follow and analyze his initial policy moves. The network also announced on Monday that Rachel Maddow, its most popular host, will temporarily resume her hourlong weeknight broadcast at 9 p.m. Eastern throughout Mr. Trump’s first 100 days.
Later this year, MSNBC is set to be spun off—along with CNBC and entertainment outlets like USA and Syfy—into a new company owned by its parent, Comcast.
Ms. Kutler, meanwhile, is a cable news executive with notable experience in streaming. Before joining MSNBC in 2022, she played a pivotal role in developing CNN+, the high-profile streaming news venture that Warner Bros. Discovery discontinued that same year.