• Rashida Jones has stepped down as president of MSNBC.
• Rebecca Kutler will succeed her as interim president.
• The left-leaning network faces an uncertain future as it heads toward a spinoff and a new Trump era.

MSNBC's president, Rashida Jones, has stepped down, she said in a memo to staff distributed Tuesday and viewed by Business Insider.

The change comes amid ratings struggles for the network and days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

A memo from Mark Lazarus, the chairman of NBCUniversal's media group, said Rebecca Kutler, a senior vice president of content strategy, would become the interim president of the left-leaning news network.

Kutler joined MSNBC in 2022 after two decades at CNN. At MSNBC, she's been behind marquee programs, including "Inside with Jen Psaki" and "The Weekend," and the launch of "MSNBC Live," a live events series. She has also led the network's digital growth and expanded its audio offerings.

MSNBC is among the NBCUniversal networks, along with CNBC, E!, Oxygen, and others, that its parent company, Comcast, plans to spin off in the coming year. Comcast positioned the move as a way to grow both organically and by acquiring other cable networks.

Jones started in the role in 2021, at the start of the Biden administration. She was the first Black executive to lead a major news network and presided over early ratings successes. The situation has changed recently. Ratings for MSNBC and CNN have fallen since the presidential election in November. Meanwhile, Fox has surged.

Jones said that the decision to step down was hers and that she was asked to stay on for a transitional period.

"I came to this decision over the holidays while reflecting on our remarkable journey and the many successes we've achieved together as a team," she wrote in the memo to MSNBC staff. "This has been the most rewarding chapter of my professional career and I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished, which has been made possible only by you."

Had Jones stayed, she would have reported to a new boss, Lazarus, who was tapped to lead the new company. Cesar Conde will stay on as the NBCUniversal News Group chair but lose the cable network as part of the transition.

MSNBC faces an uncertain future under Trump 2.0. It just brought back its star, Rachel Maddow, five days a week to cover the first 100 days of Trump's new administration. The move could give the network a much-needed ratings boost.

Lazarus also told staff during a meeting Tuesday that MSNBC would keep its name, acknowledging that was a question out there, according to an audio transcript viewed by BI.

One former MSNBC executive said they felt that running the network was an "impossible situation." They asked for anonymity to protect business relationships; their identity is known to BI.

"Resistance TV is less important," this person said. "The challenge will be how will the network appear more down the middle without losing their audience? The shrinking linear marketplace and rapidly evolving political environment have created a perfect storm."

Here's Lazarus' full memo to MSNBC staff:

All,

As Rashida announced this morning, she has made the decision to step down as president of MSNBC after an extraordinary tenure leading the network.

I first met Rashida in 2018, and since then, I have been impressed by her business successes, exceptional producing skills and sharp editorial instincts.

Rashida has expertly navigated MSNBC through a years-long, unrelenting and unprecedented news cycle, all while driving the network to record viewership and making investments in nonlinear businesses. MSNBC is well-positioned for the future, and I am grateful that she will continue to support us during this transition.

Effective immediately, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Rebecca Kutler as the interim president of MSNBC, reporting directly to me. Rebecca is the ideal leader to guide us through this moment, and I look forward to collaborating with her as we shape our collective future together.

Since joining MSNBC in 2022, Rebecca has been a catalyst for growth across our digital, social, and audio platforms, resulting in across-the-board record audience engagement. She is a highly respected industry veteran with decades of experience in executive producing, news programming, and business development. With Rebecca's track record of driving the development and expansion of several of the network's marquee programs, it's no surprise she was recently promoted to oversee all of dayside.

Please join me in expressing our gratitude to Rashida for her invaluable contributions to MSNBC and in congratulating Rebecca on her well-deserved appointment.

Mark Lazarus

• Disney brought the magic in 2024, but it isn't out of the woods just yet.
• Streaming turned a profit for the first time, and it righted the ship at the box office.
• While CEO Bob Iger won a proxy battle, Trump's second term now looms.

After a string of challenges, Disney brought the magic in 2024.

It wasn't long ago that CEO Bob Iger was battling an expensive proxy fight, creative challenges, and streaming business losses.

Iger has put many of those concerns behind him. Disney fended off activist shareholder Nelson Peltz. And he addressed two areas that have been a big concern for Wall Street: returning the film division to profits with "Inside Out 2" and "Deadpool & Wolverine," and turning the corner in its streaming business.

On a fourth-quarter earnings call in November, a confident Iger projected rosy earnings all the way out to 2027 and was rewarded with a 9% surge in Disney's stock price.

Perhaps most important, after a botched succession in 2020, the company reassured critics that it's on track to name Iger's replacement in early 2026.

Disney isn't out of the woods just yet. It still faces the ongoing decline of its linear TV business. With another ESPN streamer in the works, its streaming offerings are multiplying, which risks consumer confusion. And some insiders have worried that a returning President Donald Trump could lead to retribution — or a chilling effect on the company's creative output and journalism — after Iger and Trump publicly sparred during Trump's first term.

Meanwhile, here's a look back at Disney's biggest wins of the past year:

For the first time, its streaming business became profitable

Disney turned a crucial corner with its streaming business in 2024.

Services like Hulu and Disney+ generated a small but noteworthy profit — to the tune of $47 million — for the first time in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, that figure grew to $321 million.

Subscription price hikes were key. The basic price for Disney+ is now $16 a month, compared to $7 when it launched in 2019. Iger said on a call with investors this month that in raising prices, the company sought to move users toward ad-supported subscription options.

Edging forward on succession

Disney has given itself a self-imposed deadline of 2026 to name Iger's successor — which is when the executive's contract expires and is longer than some had anticipated.

After Iger's last succession plan fell flat, resulting in his return to the company in 2022, this time the effort is being spearheaded by Morgan Stanley's James Gorman.

Four internal candidates have been floated: Disney Entertainment cochair Dana Walden, movie head Alan Bergman, Disney Experiences chair Josh D'Amaro, and ESPN chair Jimmy Pitaro. Disney is also considering outsiders, though no frontrunner has emerged.

Getting back on track with box office hits

Iger acknowledged last year that Disney movies weren't what they used to be in terms of quality following box office disappointments like "Elemental," "The Little Mermaid," and "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."

But in 2024, Disney righted the ship. "Inside Out 2" broke the record for an animated movie opening, while "Deadpool & Wolverine" — the only film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe it released this year after the company decided to slow its roll — was an irrefutable smash, signaling a possible antidote to superhero fatigue.

Betting big on experiences

Experiences are key to Disney's future, with Chairman Josh D'Amaro overseeing a $60 billion investment over the next decade into park expansion — and the company's most ambitious foray yet into gaming, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

New attractions and lands inspired by hit films like "Avatar" and "Monsters, Inc." will arrive at parks worldwide, according to THR, and four new cruise ships will roughly double its fleet by the end of the decade.

Disney also placed its biggest bet to date on gaming earlier this year with a $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games. Disney will work with the "Fortnite" studio to develop an interactive space inspired by its IP.

Iger triumphed in the Peltz proxy battle (but now must face Trump)

Iger won a lengthy and expensive proxy battle against activist investor Nelson Peltz in April after shareholders voted to keep the CEO and Disney management's board over two new members nominated by Peltz's firm.

Peltz has criticized Disney's succession planning, streaming losses, and stock performance.

But looking ahead, Iger could be facing another threat when Trump takes office again — with its ABC News division having already drawn the president-elect's ire. While Iger criticized Trump during his first term, he appears to be remaining on the political sidelines this time around.