MSNBC has suffered a major loss as it was confirmed that host Steve Kornacki will be leaving the left-leaning news network.
Kornacki, 45, will grow his presence as the go-to data host in news and sports with a new deal with NBC as MSNBC separates to form its own news network.
Steve Kornacki will continue to appear on major NBC showsCredit: Getty
MSNBC will separate from NBC into a spin-off companyCredit: Alamy
Current NBC correspondent Antonia Hylton will join MSNBC full timeCredit: Getty
The host will continue to analyze major sporting events such as the Olympics, NFL, and Triple Crown and will also casually appear on NBC News Now, the network’s streaming service.
“We are happy that Steve will continue in his role at NBC Sports,” an NBC Sports spokesperson told The U.S. Sun.
Kornacki will make guest appearances on Meet the Press, Today, and NBC Nightly News, The LA Times reported.
MSNBC did not provide a specific statement to the outlet, but it said it was already looking to replace Kornacki with a new “data guru.”
Kornacki began working full-time at MSNBC in 2013, and started his notable role covering the election map in 2014.
He has since become a staple on the network and is featured in around-the-clock coverage during election season.
The MSNBC host became so popular that he even made a cameo on Saturday Night Live during the 2022 midterm elections.
During the 2024 election, the network had a “Kornacki Cam” on its Peacock streaming service to give live updates on the polling stats.
Under his new contract, Kornacki will be the chief data analyst for both the news and sports divisions and will continue as a contributor rather than a full-time employee, Variety reported.
As a contributor, Kornacki can guest appear on other networks that don’t conflict with his current contract.
BIG CHANGES
The network also announced on Tuesday that correspondent Antonia Hylton, who worked at NBC News and MSNBC, will be promoted to full-time as co-host of The Weekend: Primetime, which will air on May 2.
Hylton previously worked as a correspondent and producer for Vice Media and HBO’s nightly news and documentary show, “Vice News Tonight.”
The Emmy-award-winning journalist was also featured on Forbes’ 30-under-30 list in 2020.
NBC called this new hire a “major, massive deal for MSNBC.”
The press release also mentioned that the company will be hiring over 100 new journalists to its network.
“At a time when the media industry at-large is experiencing mass layoffs, MSNBC is building a brand new newsgathering operation and hiring more than 100 journalists,” a release from NBC read.
TRANSITIONING TIMES
Kornacki’s exit from MSNBC comes just a few months after the network’s president, Rashida Jones, announced she was leaving.
Jones made history in 2021 by becoming the the first Black executive to lead a major US TV news network.
In the beginning of 2025, however, she told employees that she would be stepping down from the network.
Jones said her time at MSNBC was “the most rewarding chapter” of her career,” and that the network’s senior vice president of content strategy, Rebecca Kutler, will take over as interim president.
Jones’ departure follows an announcement made by NBC in November that it would be creating a new spin off most of its cable TV networks.
The bold new spin-off network, titled SpinCo, will make MSNBC, along with CNBC, the USA Network, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and the Golf Channel, all part of a separate publicly traded company.
NBC wrote in a statement that the “new company [will] provide world-class news, sports, and entertainment with significant scale and resources.”
“This transaction positions both SpinCo and NBCUniversal to play offense in a changing media landscape,” Mike Cavanagh, President of Comcast said in the statement.
“Taken together, the entirety of NBCUniversal will be on a new growth trajectory, fueled by our world-class content, technology, IP, properties and talent – all working in concert with each other as an integrated media company.”
