OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow may be on her way out.
Her show, the aptly named “The Rachel Maddow Show,” has been the top-rated show on MSNBC for a while and, as of April 2021, was in fourth place for all cable news shows behind Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which came in at number one, “Hannity,” which was number two and “The Five” at number three, Ad Week reported.
But now, the 48-year-old Maddow, whose net worth was estimated by Yahoo at $25 million, is strongly considering leaving MSNBC, The Daily Beast reported.
According to six people familiar with the situation, Maddow, 48, is seriously considering leaving the network when her contract ends early next year as negotiations drag on and the temptation to take her brand elsewhere or start her own lucrative media company has grown.
Insiders who spoke with The Daily Beast said while the star host has occasionally entertained other offers in the past, she has in recent months increasingly expressed openness to exiting when her deal ends, citing a desire to spend more time with her family and the toll of hosting a nightly program since 2008.
Maddow seems unlikely to jump to a rival television news network. Instead, she has been intrigued by opportunities in the streaming and podcasting space, which would allow her more freedom, time for her personal life, and for other projects, people familiar with her thinking said.
The high-profile TV host has gotten aggressive in exploring her next career moves: In recent months, she left her longtime agents at Napoli Management Group, linking up with powerful talent agency Endeavor and its CEO Ari Emanuel and president Mark Shapiro, who are representing her in contract negotiations with NBCUniversal.
“Nothing has been decided. We are deep into it with NBCUniversal and Rachel has an excellent relationship with them,” her agent said to The Daily Beast.
“We don’t comment on employee matters,” Lorie Acio, an MSNBC spokesperson, said to Axios.
Maddow has spoken previously about the toll doing a nightly show has taken on her. Earlier this year she took a two-week vacation which was the longest vacation she has had in her life, she said to her viewers.
And in 2019 in an interview with The New York Times, she hinted at wanting to take a break.
“I’m realizing now—10, 11 years into this—that it’s fine to work long days,” she said. “But it’s not good for you to work incessant long days, five days a week, 50 weeks a year for 10 years.”
She talked about bumping into Fox News host Tucker Carlson early in the presidency of Donald Trump and how the two were both dealing with the weight of their careers.
“It turned out we had both thrown our backs out within one week of each other, with neither of us having ever had a back problem ever before in our entire lives,” she said to The Times. “I had the gift of a very human-to-human, eye-contact moment with him, like: ‘We’re both doing this thing that’s killing us, and killing us at the same pace.’ ”
Sources informed The Daily Beast that the network is prepared to make a push to keep Maddow, including a lucrative contract extension and a lighter schedule.
Viewership for all of the three major cable networks has fallen since Trump left the White House, with Fox News down 42 percent, MSNBC down 36 percent, and CNN down a whopping 57 percent, Deadline reported.
