MSNBC is building a portfolio of original podcasts — 18 and counting — with The Best People from Nicolle Wallace as its latest addition.
As the line between a conversational podcast and a TV segment blurs rapidly, MSNBC is stocking up on original audio shows — 18 and counting — as the progressive news brand pivots its business beyond its cable news roots.
The latest bet: The Best People, billed as the first podcast from Nicolle Wallace, the network stalwart who has hosted Deadline: White House since joining MSNBC in 2017 from ABC’s The View and who has held roles in the Bush administration and as an advisor to the late John McCain.
The podcast will be an interview format with notable figures — Jason Bateman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jeff Daniels and NBA coach Doc Rivers are among the first round of guests — cutting across the entertainment, sports and political landscape. The series, which launches June 2, is part of the network’s efforts to bring on-air linear TV talent to other platforms.
MSNBC’s primetime hosts like Rachel Maddow, Jen Psaki and Chris Hayes have already made the leap with offerings like Ultra, The Blueprint and Why Is This Happening? while former primetime host Alex Wagner was dispatched for the podcast Trumpland during the first 100 days of the new administration.
Earlier this month, the company hired Madeleine Haeringer, who recently worked at Pod Save America producer Crooked Media, as its senior vp of digital, audio and longform to oversee MSNBC’s offerings.
The network says both its showcasts (audio versions of existing TV series) and original podcasts saw 13.4 million downloads in April. For comparison, Fox’s audio division saw 37 million-plus downloads and streams last month, Paramount (which includes CBS News) hit 20.6 million and CNN landed at 12.2 million for April, per industry research firm Podtrac’s latest tally.
The news brand, now led by CNN veteran Rebecca Kutler, is also experimenting with bundling all of its originals and showcasts (32 titles in total) in a MSNBC Premium bundle on Apple Podcasts that offers early and ad-free listening and extra content at a $2.99 a month price point. (For example, new episodes of The Best People will arrive on Mondays but subscribers will get access to the show on the Friday before.)
The leap to audio (or, in some cases, video podcasting) arrives as news consumption habits have shifted quickly since the first Trump administration boosted cable viewership when the real estate mogul came to power in 2017. Shortform video platforms like TikTok and longform podcasts on platforms like Spotify hosted by entertainers and influencers have arguably become the center of the media ecosystem, with legacy brands looking for a way in.
Network executives are also looking past the declining pay TV industry — a model that had sustained MSNBC, CNN and Fox News via lucrative carriage deals with cable and satellite providers — to try and reach consumers directly. Though, as of now, the only way to view MSNBC is through a pay TV provider. A podcast bundle allows the network to sell its full breadth of offerings in a different, increasingly popular format.
MSNBC is also staffing up in preparation for a major corporate ownership change. The news brand, long a part of the NBCUniversal portfolio, is expected to be spun out this fall into a new company, the nondescriptly titled Versant, that will house MSNBC and CNBC along with other cable channels like USA Network, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and the Golf Channel.