Dem
47
GOP
53
The ratings for Morning Joe have, predictably, taken a hit since co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski revealed they had traveled to Mar-a-Lago to genuflect and kiss the rind. (We know that is supposed to be "kiss the ring," but we accidentally mistyped it, and we decided we like it better that way. Freudian slip?) The day after the revelation, ratings dropped about 12%, and the day after that, another 15%. Perhaps more importantly, half the viewers in the most desirable demographic (25-54) have jumped ship. If those folks stay gone, the show is in trouble.
This said, news that broke this week helps to explain why the duo did what they did. In an era of cord-cutting, Comcast is not making any money off its cable networks, among them MSNBC. The communications giant does not see that changing. So, in order to minimize its exposure, a bunch of Comcast's cable and Internet properties are being spun off as a separate company. That includes CNBC, E!, Syfy, USA, Oxygen, Golf Channel, Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes and... MSNBC.
And now, the problem. MSNBC relies heavily on NBC News for various things, like video footage, reporting and guests. NBC News is staying with Comcast. So, MSNBC (and, indeed, the entire spun-off company) may need to find another partner in order to remain viable. The federal government has no role if a company, like Comcast, decides to break itself up. But the government most certainly DOES have a role if companies decide to merge. So, if MSNBC (and the rest of the channels) strike a deal with, say, Paramount Global, the feds would have to approve it.
Presumably you see where this is headed. Donald Trump loathes MSNBC, and now he might well be in a position to destroy MSNBC. Even if his administration did not kill the merger, it could slow-walk it in such a way as to ruin the deal, or to put MSNBC into an untenable position. This isn't merely conspiratorial thinking; this exact thing happened during the first Trump administration when Trump tried mightily to kill a merger between AT&T and TimeWarner.
This might not excuse what Scarborough and Brzezinski did, as it made them into hypocrites of the worst sort. But it does go a long way to explaining their actions. (Z)