One of MSNBC‘s election night stalwarts is jumping ship to NBC News, as Comcast’s “SpinCo” effort continues to shake up the talent rosters of the news channels in its portfolio.
An NBC News spokesperson confirms that Steve Kornacki, MSNBC’s data guru and an election night regular at the cable news channel’s “big board,” has inked a new deal that will see him exit MSNBC to focus on NBC News and NBC Sports programming as a contributor.
Kornacki is expected to become a regular presence on Meet the Press (where he already appears with some frequency) as well as NBC Nightly News and Today, as well as on the NBC News Now streaming service. He will also bring his data analysis and signature slacks and rolled-up sleeves style to NBC Sports programming like NFL football, the Olympics, and the Kentucky Derby.
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Still, his exit from MSNBC comes as the cable channel is seeking to build out a new TV schedule and an entirely new news operation ahead of the SpinCo spinoff, which is supposed to take effect later this year. MSNBC’s new lineup is set to launch this month, while it is in active hiring mode for its news operation under newly-named senior VP Scott Matthews.
While MSNBC will keep its name in the spinoff, it will get new offices and studios in New York, and will be hiring its own staff in Washington D.C.
It is likely that other on-air talent that appear on both NBC and MSNBC programming will need to choose sides in the coming months, though Kornacki’s exit is notable in that it will likely see him expand his on-air presence on NBC programming, giving him a wider platform for his data analysis.
Andrea Mitchell hosted her last show on MSNBC earlier this year, while the cable channel has brought on new talent like Eugene Daniels, Catherine Rampell, and Jackie Alemany, among others.
The Los Angeles Times first reported Kornacki’s move.
