Jen Psaki joins MSNBC’s primetime lineup with a second weekly show

MSNBC viewers will soon see more of former White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Beginning Sept. 25, Psaki will host Mondays at 8 p.m. Eastern in addition to her Sunday show, “Inside with Jen Psaki,” which premiered on progressive cable news in March. Chris Hayes, the slot’s longtime host, will continue Tuesday through Friday.

Psaki, a recognizable face after two years of giving daily news conferences for the Biden administration, was a ratings success in her first full-time TV role. Her show is MSNBC’s most-watched program every weekend, averaging nearly 1 million viewers according to Nielsen data.

While prime-time cable news networks typically offer consistent programming on weekdays, MSNBC has observed that audiences are looking for a personality who appears weekly.

To keep its biggest name, Rachel Maddow, when her contract expired last year, MSNBC agreed to give her a once-a-week work schedule. Maddow only appears on Mondays at 9 p.m., while Alex Wagner’s show airs every hour on the hour the rest of the week. The program has proven successful, with Maddow typically being the most-watched cable news host of that hour.

MSNBC has seen a sharp ratings increase as viewers flock to the network on days when former President Trump has a court date on one of the four criminal charges against him.

In July, MSNBC averaged 1.1 million viewers in prime time, more than twice as many as CNN and about 400,000 fewer than Fox News, the cable news ratings leader.

Separately, Fox News announced that conservative host Mark Levin will expand the weekend show to two nights. “Life, Liberty and Levin” airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 8 p.m. beginning September 16th