MS NOW announced Wednesday it is cutting an hour from Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s show “Morning Joe” as part of a drastic overhaul of the beleaguered network’s programming under chief Rebecca Kutler.

Starting in June, viewers will notice a slew of changes across MS NOW’s morning, daytime, primetime and weekend coverage, Kutler told staffers during a daily editorial call Wednesday morning.

Despite notching its most-watched month in February since the 2024 presidential election, the network – previously MSNBC – announced it is returning “Morning Joe” to a three-hour format, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, down from its current four-hour time slot.

MS NOW is cutting an hour from “Morning Joe.” MS NOW

MS NOW nodded to success in the 9 a.m. hour, saying its viewership increased 24% over the past 12 months and jumped 64% in the key advertising demo – but Scarborough and Brzezinski, who frequently bash the Trump administration, have previously signaled their desire to cut back.

“To be honest, I think before the election, there was a lot of discussion that we were having about maybe slowing down or figuring out when ‘Morning Joe’ comes to an end,” Brzezinski said during an MSLIVE event last October. 

“Because the hours – we are live from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. It’s four hours every day and it’s very heavy news,” said Brzezinski, who faced heated backlash from lefty viewers along with her husband and co-anchor Scarborough for visiting President Trump at Mar-a-Lago last year.

Kutler also announced major role changes for anchors and reporters including Ali Velshi, Stephanie Ruhle, Jacob Soboroff, Luke Russert, Alicia Menendez and Chris Jansing in the first programming overhaul since MS NOW moved under Versant after a Comcast spin-off.

Last month, the network averaged 1.4 million primetime viewers, and it has seen improvement in its weekly coverage under Kutler – including a 30% jump in total viewers for “The Weeknight.”

Ali Velshi will take over as the new anchor of “The 11th Hour” weeknights at 11 p.m. ET. MSNBC

But daytime weekday coverage at MS NOW remains weak, and the lefty cable network is far behind rival Fox News in the ratings race – after the conservative channel averaged 35% more total day viewers in February than CNN and MS NOW combined, according to Nielsen data.

In a memo to employees Wednesday, Kutler said the upcoming newsroom changes will not include widespread layoffs.

“As part of these programming changes, team members will have the opportunity to shift into new roles to support new priorities,” Kutler wrote. “In most cases, comparable opportunities will be available to employees as these changes take shape.”

The company – which has hired hundreds of new roles since losing the ability to lean on NBC News’ newsgathering services – said it plans to hire hundreds more and have more people working at MS NOW by the end of the year than it does today.

After axing the 9 a.m. hour of “Morning Joe,” MS NOW said Stephanie Ruhle will be leading a new morning show from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET during the week. 

Ruhle has anchored various time slots across the network, and will also maintain her role as MS NOW’s senior business analyst, the network said.

MS NOW said it will announce the anchor for the 11 a.m. hour in the coming weeks.

Alicia Menendez – who currently serves as a co-anchor on “The Weeknight” – is booting out Chris Jansing in the 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET time slot with a new solo show.

Luke Russert will join “The Weeknight” weeknights at 7 p.m. ET as the show’s newest co-anchor. William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty Images

Menendez – who was the network’s first Latina anchor on a primetime show – will be able to work out of the New York City office and remain close to her two children, as she has been commuting from New Jersey to Washington to host “The Weeknight,” the company said.

Meanwhile, Jansing will lose her weekday show and return to a full-time reporter role as chief political reporter, MS NOW said.

Luke Russert will join “The Weeknight” weeknights at 7 p.m. ET as the show’s newest co-anchor alongside Symone Sanders Townsend and Michael Steele, after frequently serving as a fill-in anchor on the show.

After Ruhle exits “The 11th Hour,” Ali Velshi will take over as the show’s new anchor weeknights at 11 p.m. ET.

Velshi, who has been with the network since 2016, will also continue to serve as MS NOW’s chief data reporter and contribute to election coverage.

Jacob Soboroff will take over Velshi’s former time slot on the weekends, leading a new show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET and remaining a senior political reporter, as well.

“All In with Chris Hayes” will return to Mondays at 8 p.m. ET, as “The Weeknight” will air for just one hour instead of two on those nights.

The network also announced the departure of Ana Cabrera, who currently hosts a weekday show from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET. Cabrera has not yet announced her next role.

Jonathan Lemire, who previously hosted the 9 a.m. hour of “Morning Joe,” will remain as a co-anchor on the show, moving up to the 8 a.m. slot.