Details on CNN’s Large Salary Offer To Steal Rachel Maddow From MSNBC – OutKick

MSNBC re-signed Rachel Maddow to a contract value $30 million per 12 months this fall, a deal that media circles have questioned. It’s not that Maddow isn’t value that wage to host a each day primetime present. She actually is. What’s puzzling is that Maddow’s new contract permits her to go away her nightly present in favor of a weekly program in 2022, and $30 million for one present per week hardly provides up.

It seems, MSNBC provided this contract out of desperation. MSNBC bid not solely to maintain Maddow connected to its model, but in addition to maintain her away from CNN.

A supply informed Puck News’ Matt Belloni that CNN’s Jeff Zucker had provided Maddow round $20 million to anchor the community’s upcoming streaming service, CNN+. CNN’s supply precipitated NBCUniversal “to scramble to promise her more money and less work to stay put, which she did.”

Losing Maddow to CNN+ would’ve been significantly problematic for NBC since its personal streaming service, Peacock, ranks among the many firm’s prime priorities. Hence why Maddow’s new deal contains an unspecified function with NBCUniversal, MSNBC’s father or mother firm, which suggests a presence on Peacock. Remember, Maddow’s expertise agent, Endeavor president Mark Shapiro, negotiated an analogous linear and streaming contract extension for Stephen A. Smith in 2019 which stored him on ESPN together with a present on ESPN+.

Maddow doubtless would’ve had a linear present on CNN as nicely. Those talks had been noticeably omitted of CNN’s assertion, which confirmed to Puck News that Zucker tried to get Maddow “specifically for CNN+.” Clearly, CNN doesn’t need its present anchors conscious of how rapidly it could’ve changed them with Maddow. While CNN’s hosts share Maddow’s worldview, they lack her attain and affect.

Maddow additionally thought-about launching her personal impartial media firm, one she might have then bought. Ultimately, Rachel Maddow held all of the playing cards in her contract talks with MSNBC, which is why she landed a $30 million a 12 months contract with an choice to host 4 fewer days per week.

Looking forward, CNN might make one other run at Maddow earlier than her contract expires after the 2024 election, a time when cable information networks will reassess their subsequent 4 years. So anticipate Maddow to money out once more in three years.