CNBC pulls the plug on ‘The News With Shepard Smith’
CNBC has terminated The News With Shepard Smith Wednesday after just 90 days of operation.
The move came after the show’s ratings were dismal, generating more than a tenth of the revenue from the time slot on the cable news channel. A spokesperson for the network said the decision was made after the show failed to “demonstrate that it has a realistic potential to be successful” after just two years, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The show debuted on MSNBC last Friday, as well as CBS, and was hosted by NBC employee and former MTV News personality Shepard Smith. Smith’s program was originally planned to be a weekly show, but on Tuesday, it was announced that the series would air Fridays beginning last Thursday.
“It’s a shame to see that after taking our first baby step of the year, we’ve now had to end The News With Shepard Smith,” Chris Chmiel, CFO of the network said in a statement. “We’ve had some great success across all brands on the network, and will continue to work hard to sustain and grow our strong franchises.”
The News With Shepard Smith had been a ratings success, garnering 1.64 million viewers every week, according to TVNewser. It also generated a 4.75 million A18-49 age demographic, the program’s best demo.
The news came just days after Smith’s show was axed by MSNBC after nearly a year. Smith, a frequent Fox guest and contributor, had just started his new show on the morning drive on MSNBC which is the same day Shepard Smith was leaving NBC.
“The News With Shepard Smith” was created by Matt McCorquodale and Adam Sohn after the death of their boss Bill O’Reilly. The duo were looking after the news division at the network.
The news was a big blow to MSNBC and it sent a shock wave through the entire media world as we now know that The News With Shepard Smith was meant to be the replacement of the last remaining NBC program on that network.
Despite the ratings success, it was decided that the time was right to cut