MSNBC slashed star anchor Rachel Maddow’s annual salary by $5 million as the left-leaning network continues to reel from parent company Comcast’s decision to spin off its struggling cable properties, according to a report.
Maddow — who rakes in $30 million a year for hosting “The Rachel Maddow Show” just one day a week on Mondays — renegotiated for a $25 million salary for the next five years, The Ankler reported on Thursday.
“This is a difficult time and they needed to keep her,” one executive told the news site. “No one else can do what she does. You can’t build a brand like it overnight.”
Another executive called Maddow “ratings Viagra.”
An MSNBC spokesperson declined to comment.
Maddow’s reported salary haircut comes as panic engulfed MSNBC’s 30 Rock headquarters in Midtown, as The Post reported, over Comcast’s plan to spin off off its cable channels by the end of 2025.
Splitting off MSNBC from NBC News could force the cable channel to change its name, logo and headquarters, and may lead to layoffs.
Maddow’s new deal will keep her in the anchor chair on Monday nights, and allow her to produce podcasts and documentaries, the Ankler reported.
The network also plans to use her as a “secret weapon” on other shows when there’s breaking news, the outlet added.
MSNBC’s ratings have tanked 54% in the days after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris — a win that left MSNBC’s staunchly anti-Trump hosts speechless.
The ratings are down 40% from this time last year, according to Nielsen data.
“We were so Harris propaganda that when she lost, viewers were shocked,” one on-air commentator told The Ankler.
“It turned into one giant circle j–k and echo chamber. If MSNBC wants to be of service to its viewers, they can’t keep them in fantasy land.”
Now, the network’s producers are wrestling with how to move forward as the “only safe space for a liberal TV audience,” one insider said.
During Trump’s first administration, MSNBC hosted “Democrats who speak Republican” like Hugh Hewitt and Nicolle Wallace, one insider said.
But the company is unsure how to handle the “Star Wars freak show” of Trump’s new appointees, one producer told The Ankler.
“I don’t know if having these people on would put any useful information out,” they said.
MSNBC is sure about Maddow, though, with one executive calling her “ratings Viagra.”
Meanwhile, the network’s other star anchors, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of “Morning Joe,” have come under fire for cozying up to President-elect Donald Trump after years of criticizing him on-air.
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