Back on weekdays and ready to kick ass!
Can we get a HELL YEAH?!
Ed Schultz will move back to weekdays in the 5 p.m. slot beginning Aug. 26, the network is set to announce on Monday. The move comes less than five months after The Ed Show moved from 8 p.m. Monday-Friday to 5-7 p.m. on weekends. That announcement last March was preceded by months of media speculation that Schultz was losing the leadoff slot in MSNBC's primetime lineup. Schultz made the announcement on his show, saying there were "a number of personal and professional reasons" for the move to weekends.
"Ed has proven himself no matter where we've put him," MSNBC president Phil Griffin told The Hollywood Reporter.
You got that right Mr. Griffin. Ed Schultz is one of MSNBC's certified ass kickers. As in, he fights for workers rights all the time and in addition, has provided more coverage on this issue than the brain dead CNN or even Fox News (like heck Fox News would ever cover anything on workers rights).
Also, the timing couldn't have been better as MSNBC has struggled a bit in the ratings:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/...
The changes also comes as MSNBC is battling ratings declines in July and its worst second-quarter finish in primetime since 2009. Like it did in the second quarter, the NBCUniversal-owned cable news channel finished July behind Fox News Channel and CNN. In ratings for the total day, MSNBC was also bested by CNN sister channel HLN in the second quarter. With a newsy second quarter marked by the Boston Marathon bombings and the Jody Arias trial, CNN and HLN both saw ratings increases. CNN was up 50 percent in total viewers and 78 percent in viewers ages 25-54.
Meanwhile, Chris Hayes, who inherited Schultz's 8 p.m. slot, has struggled along with the rest of the network. For the second quarter -- Hayes' first full quarter on the air -- All In With Chris Hayes declined to MSNBC's lowest demo number in the 8 p.m. slot since 2006.
I'll be frank, really like Chris Hayes. He's full of two brains instead of one and is a living, breathing book of knowledge and analysis. However, he's never struck me as the kind of host that gives the fighting power and entertaining personality quite like Ed Schultz. There have been moments where I just down right smiled at Schultz for making fun of the GOP in ways no other person on MSNBC has (except maybe Rachel Maddow).
Here's a sampling of what we're missing on the weekdays and what we have to look forward to on the weekends:
And amazingly, enough, Ed Schultz is set back to return on MSNBC at the 5 pm time slot as soon as this coming Monday. No more having to wait for him on the weekends now!
Ed, welcome back. We've missed you man!