MS NOW Announces Major Programming Shake Up — Shifts ‘Morning Joe’ Back to 3 Hours and Gives Alicia Menendez Her Own Timeslot, as Ana Cabrera Departs

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MS NOW is making its first major lineup change since their split with NBC. And its flagship morning show is a part of the shuffle.

MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler announced the changes on a network-wide editorial call early Wednesday — which will impact the entire lineup from early-morning to late night, as well as the weekends. For starters, Morning Joe will return to 3 hours, down from 4, and will now air from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. It’s a move that hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have publicly clamored for — citing the heavy demands of piloting a 4-hour program.

“Getting up at 4:30 in the morning, and getting shot out of a cannon at 6 and tap dancing for four hours, there’s literally nobody on the planet that understands what that’s like, except for the person that I’m with all the time,” Scarborough told PEOPLE.

Jon Lemire, who co-anchored the 9 a.m. hour, slides back an hour to co-pilot at 8 a.m. daily.

The 9 a.m. slot will be filled by Stephanie Ruhle — who cedes The 11th Hour to her longtime pal and YouTube live partner Ali Velshi. Ruhle will host a two-hour show each morning from 9-11 a.m., while Velshi will depart weekend duty to take over the 11 p.m. program.

In an interview this week with Mediaite founding editor Colby Hall on Mediaite’s Press Club, Ruhle raved about the culture that has been built at MS NOW since the split from NBC.

“I love our studios, I love working together, I love being with the team,” Ruhle said. “And kind of the beauty is, it’s a 25-year-old company, MS, right? We have the legacy, we have the brand of all that we’ve built, and now we have the nimbleness of not necessarily having to ask NBC’s permission.”

Ana Cabrera — whose Ana Cabrera Reports aired from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. daily — will be exiting the network. In a post on X Wednesday morning, Cabrera said it was her call to step away.

“I’ve decided to make a change, and I am leaving MS NOW,” Cabrera wrote. She added, “I am truly grateful for my time at MS NOW, for my wonderful colleagues, my amazing team that works so hard every day, and for you, the viewers who’ve put your trust in me to serve you through this most meaningful work. Thank you. I’m not leaving immediately, I’ll still be helming the anchor desk for a few more months, but I wanted to give you a heads up, and I look forward to sharing more about what’s next for me soon. Stay tuned.”

The 11 a.m. slot remains open for now, but stepping in at 12 p.m. is another new face — Alicia Menendez. The co-host of The Weeknight makes the move to the afternoon, as Luke Russert will be taking her place in the 7 p.m. hour alongside Symone Sanders-Townsend and Michael Steele. The move is a major vote of confidence in Menendez, who has been a key cog in the nighttime ensemble show, which has grown ratings over its timeslot predecessor Joy Reid.

Chris Jansing — who previously helmed the 12-2 p.m. slot — will be headed off the anchor desk and back to the field. She has been named MS NOW’s chief political reporter and will play a role in breaking news coverage.

Elsewhere in the lineup, All In with Chris Hayes moves back to five nights per week, having previously been off on Mondays — when an extra hour of The Weeknight was aired in its place. And Jacob Soboroff takes over for Ali Velshi on the weekends. Soboroff will host from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Kutler, in a memo to MS NOW staff, expressed excitement about the shuffle.

“I am confident that these changes will make what is already a successful lineup even stronger in the future,” Kutler said. “We are fortunate to have so many exceptional journalists on our air, online, and behind the scenes.”

The lineup changes take effect in June.

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