Latest news with #TheBestPeople
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ukraine burns Putin, but also schools Trump with surprise drone attack
Rachel Maddow talks with Nicolle Wallace, whose new podcast, "The Best People," debuts today, about Ukraine's surprise drone attack on Russia and how Donald Trump, in a very short time, has made the U.S. blind to what other countries are up to, and excluded by our own traditional allies while the rest of the world moves ahead.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MSNBC Is Working to Build Its Podcast Portfolio. Next Up: A Nicolle Wallace Show
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. More from The Hollywood Reporter MSNBC Makes Key Political Hire as It Builds a New D.C. Bureau Stephanie Ruhle Sets MSNBC Primetime Special With Laid-Off Federal Workers (Exclusive) At WHCD Weekend, Glam With a (Small) Dash of Dystopia 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. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Nicolle Wallace launches ‘The Best People' podcast for MSNBC as spinoff looms
MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace has delivered some sharp criticism of President Trump since she became a host on the progressive-leaning cable news network in 2017. So it's surprising that her new podcast shares its name with one of Trump's regular boasts about his team: 'The Best People.' 'I thought he had abandoned it,' Wallace, 53, told The Times. 'But I actually think 'the best people' was one of his best messages in 2016.' 'He abandoned it officially when he picked Matt Gaetz,' she added, referring to Trump's first choice for attorney general. Each week on 'The Best People,' starting Monday, Wallace will have lengthy conversations with actors, musicians, thought leaders and other figures outside of politics. The guest on the first episode is actor and fellow podcaster Jason Bateman, followed by Sarah Jessica Parker, music producer Jimmy Jam, folk singer Joan Baez and Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers in coming weeks. The jump into podcasting comes as the network looks for more ways to reach the growing number of consumers who are no longer watching cable TV. The network says its existing audio podcasts, which include series from hosts Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes and Jen Psaki, will top 10 million downloads in May. 'Our goal is to meet our audience where they are and to bring the talent of our hosts and anchors to them in those spaces,' said Madeleine Haeringer, MSNBC's senior vice president of digital, audio and longform. 'It's not a one-size-fits-all formula — but instead, tailoring each project to both the host and the platform.' Wallace said she was ready to expand her role at MSNBC before the corporate changes. Podcasting appealed to her because, as a working mom, she knows many women aren't available to watch her daily program in the afternoon. Her branching out into less overtly political territory is somewhat unexpected. The former Bush White House communications director's tenure on the ABC talk show 'The View' was brief, partly due to her lack of pop culture expertise. That's not a concern this time around, she said. The guests she solicited for 'The Best People' are coming to the table to discuss their own advocacy issues apart from the kind of instant political analysis presented on her MSNBC program 'Deadline: White House.' Wallace connected with Jimmy Jam when they discussed creating a 'We Are the World' type of musical production to aid Ukraine. She knew Rivers through his social justice activism (as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, he had to guide the players through the scandal over former owner Donald Sterling's racist comments) and Parker for her devotion to literacy programs. The podcast format allows them to open up in a way that doesn't always happen on live TV. 'For some reason, people sitting in front of their computer screens on the Zoom are even more candid and forthcoming about how they feel,' Wallace said. Wallace is wading into digital media at a time when MSNBC is in transition. The channel, along with other NBCUniversal cable outlets, is being spun off from current owner Comcast into a new company called Versant. Comcast is getting out of the cable channel business, with the exception of its potent reality brand Bravo, out of concern about the steady decline of the pay TV audience. Over the last 10 years, cord-cutting has reduced the number of cable homes MSNBC reaches by 33%. MSNBC also saw a mass exodus of viewers just after the presidential election, as its loyal left-leaning audience tuned out after Trump's victory. The ratings have gradually climbed back up, with MSNBC maintaining its second place position behind perennial cable leader Fox News but well ahead of third place CNN. In May, the network was up 24% from the lows it hit in November and December, but is still down 35% compared to the presidential campaign-elevated levels of a year ago, according to Nielsen. But leadership at Versant has it made clear that MSNBC will continue to cater to a politically progressive audience. Wallace believes the commitment to the network's point of view has only deepened under new management. 'It's a culture that really rewards deep wonky coverage of politics,' she said. '[MSNBC President] Rebecca Kutler has come in and tripled down on all of that.' The spinoff requires separating MSNBC from NBC News, where some journalists were uneasy with the intensity of partisan commentary on the cable network. Versant is hiring its own newsgathering team — as many as 100 journalists — including justice and intelligence correspondent Ken Dilanian, who is moving over from NBC. 'To work for someone who is hiring reporters at a time when we're looking at an administration that seems a little meh about the Constitution is pretty forward leaning,' Wallace said. She was inspired to try something new by the extracurricular activities of her husband, the New York Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Michael S. Schmidt, who co-created the Netflix thriller series 'Zero Day' with former NBC News President Noah Oppenheim. 'Michael enjoyed it so much it gave me the idea to add something that is a little outside my comfort zone,' Wallace said. Wallace met Schmidt, 41, at MSNBC, where he is a contributor. They married in 2022 and a year later had their first child via surrogate. Wallace also has a 13-year-old son, Liam, from her first marriage. While Wallace and Schmidt have a business-like dynamic when they appear together on the program, family matters creep in off-camera. 'When we are both on set, my son is texting us about dinner,' Wallace said. 'During the breaks, we're never talking about the rule of law. We're talking about logistics.'
