Morning Joe co-hosts joke about what NBCUniversal spinoff means for them – Washington Examiner

Asher NotheisNovember 20, 2024

In a recent episode of *Morning Joe*, co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough humorously discussed the ⁤potential implications of Comcast’s decision to spin off‌ a significant part of NBCUniversal’s cable channels, which includes MSNBC, the home of their ⁤show.‌ Scarborough jested about the uncertainty of their show’s future, mentioning that they might be ⁤out ⁤of a job in a year. The conversation highlights ‌the broader trend of companies adapting to the declining cable⁤ television market, with Scarborough noting that streaming platforms like Peacock have seen⁤ success, particularly with events like the⁤ upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Willie ⁤Geist, also present on the show, supported Scarborough’s views on the need for Comcast⁣ to adjust to changing viewing ⁣habits, reflecting the decrease in cable subscriptions expected in the coming ‌years.

Morning Joe co-hosts joke about what NBCUniversal spinoff means for them

Morning Joe co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough joked that their show could be gone in a year, referencing the news that Comcast will spin off a large chunk of NBCUniversal cable channels.

Among the networks set to be affected by Comcast is MSNBC, the home channel of Morning Joe. Upon hearing Brzezinski read out the news, Scarborough, her husband, joked that the biggest concern on the minds of Wall Street stockholders is whether or not his wife will have to give up “her penthouse perch atop the Comcast building,” prompting Brzezinski to interject, “Now, now.”

“I will say really quickly on this, you know, Drudge at the top said, ‘Oh, like, news meltdown, all this other stuff,’” Scarborough said. “I mean, I can be completely wrong. We can all be fired a year from now, whenever this happens. You never know what’s going to happen.”

Scarborough then suggested that Comcast’s decision to spin off NBCUniversal cable channels is not out of the ordinary, as other companies, such as the Walt Disney Company, are seeking to keep their cable channels profitable amid a changing landscape. He contended that Peacock, Comcast’s streaming platform, had “extraordinary success” with streaming the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and Comcast has cash available since it did not make a heavy investment in streaming like other companies.

Willie Geist, who was also on the show, agreed with Scarborough’s assessment, arguing that Comcast is aiming to keep up with the cord-cutting of cable television across the United States. In 2010, a total of 105 million households subscribed to cable television, with this total expected to go down to 70 million by the end of 2024.

Earlier this week, Scarborough spent a portion of Morning Joe defending the recent visit he and Brzezinski made to Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago following the 2024 election, marking the first time in seven years the three had been together. Scarborough suggested he saw “a massive disconnect” between social media and “the real world” over the couple’s visit, stating he received multiple supportive messages over their meetup with Trump.

Despite this, the couple’s visit was also met with criticism, with former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley suggesting the pair “saw the ratings” for their show and that their visit was not a moment in which they “suddenly saw the light.”