MS NOW’s longest serving anchor leaving network

Alex Witt, MS NOW’s longest-serving anchor, is leaving the network as it scales back live weekend evening programming.

The programming shift, announced Friday, June 26, 2026, is designed to cut costs as parent company Versant redirects resources toward a direct-to-consumer streaming service that would make MS NOW available without a pay TV subscription. The company is also seeking to expand its live events business.

“The Weekend: Primetime,” a live discussion program that launched in 2025, will air for the final time Saturday, June 27, 2026, according to a memo from Rebecca Kutler, president of MS NOW.

Kutler described Witt in the memo as “a beloved longtime member of our MS NOW family” and “a continued, trusted and steady presence for our audiences.”

Witt’s last day has not be set, but the network indicated it will be sometime this summer.

Antonia Hylton, one of the program’s co-hosts, will take over Witt’s midday shifts later in 2026. Ayman Mohyeldin, Catherine Rampell and Elise Jordan, who also host “The Weekend: Primetime,” will remain with MS NOW and continue appearing across the network.

Kutler said in a statement that the programming changes are expected to result in minimal job losses. She encouraged employees whose roles are affected to apply for open positions at MS NOW, which has about 40 openings with more expected.

The network has been building out its news operation since separating from NBC News. MS NOW changed its name from MSNBC in November 2025, and the network was spun off with other Comcast cable channels into Versant in January 2026.

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The network has increasingly used podcasts to fill portions of its weekend schedule, including Crooked Media’s “Pod Save America.” Those episodes have performed well enough for MS NOW to pursue similar arrangements with outside podcast producers.

“Throughout the summer, we will expand our taped strategy and announce new content partnerships,” Kutler said in the memo.

MS NOW will continue to offer 20 hours of live weekend programming and will remain staffed for breaking news coverage.

Witt joined the network, which was then known as MSNBC, in 1999, before MSNBC’s programming shifted more heavily toward progressive political commentary. 

She began handling the weekend duties in 2011 with the premiere of “Weekends with Alex Witt.” The show rebranded as “Alex Witt Reports” in 2021 and also jumped around the schedule multiple times as the network tinkered with its Saturday and Sunday strategy.

Earlier in her tenure, she also anchored “Morning Joe First Look” and overnight programming. 

Despite her legacy with the network, Witt was never given a more prominent weekday dayside or primetime slot on a permanent basis. Witt was known for her bold, no-nonsense style and her show had been one of the network’s last straight news programs, especially after its mid-June 2026 programming overhaul. 

Witt also spent time working as a producer for NBC’s “Today” on the West Coast. She also appeared on-air at KCBA in Salinas, California, as well as all of the big-three stations — KABC, KCBS and KNBC, in Los Angeles. She also spent two years at Fox-owned WNYW in New York before joining MSNBC.

There was no immediate word what’s next for Witt.