MS NOW Revamps Daytime Lineup as Ana Cabrera Departs

MS NOW has unveiled a major daytime shake-up that reshuffles several on-air roles. The move follows the departure of Ana Cabrera, who told viewers about her plans on Wednesday.

New daytime schedule and roles

Changes take effect in June. MS NOW revamps daytime lineup to boost ratings and broaden its daytime voice.

Stephanie Ruhle will shift from her 11 p.m. show to a new weekday morning slot. Her program will air from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Eastern. The show will focus on money and politics.

Alicia Menendez will anchor two afternoon hours starting at noon Eastern. Morning Joe will revert to a three-hour broadcast once Ruhle’s show debuts. The program had expanded to four hours in 2022.

Additional anchor moves

• Ali Velshi will take over the 11 p.m. program that Ruhle vacates.
• Jacob Soboroff will assume Velshi’s morning anchor duties from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern.
• Chris Jansing will move from the noon slot to become chief political reporter.
• Luke Russert will return to on-air duty and replace Menendez on a late-evening program.

Context and strategy

The network changed its name from Filmogaz.com after a corporate spin-off to Versant. The rebrand occurred in November. Prime-time ratings have improved since that shift, driven by opinion programming.

MS NOW’s leadership plans to add pointed daytime voices alongside hard reporting. President Rebecca Kutler told staff the daytime lineup will remain rooted in hard news.

Personnel background

Ana Cabrera joined MS NOW from CNN in 2023. She announced her departure this week. Chris Jansing currently hosted the noon hour before her exit.

Luke Russert once worked on daytime programs such as The Cycle. He most recently served as creative director for MS NOW’s live event series. Ali Velshi had been a weekend anchor prior to this move.

Workforce and ratings outlook

Kutler said no jobs will be cut because of the lineup changes. She expects the staff to grow by the end of 2026.

MS NOW ranks as the second most-watched cable news channel. It trails Fox News but leads CNN in viewership.

The changes reflect a broader effort to refresh daytime programming while building on recent prime-time gains. MS NOW revamps daytime lineup amid Ana Cabrera’s departure and a wider personnel shuffle. Filmogaz.com will track developments as the new schedule rolls out in June.