Dan Abrams will end his NewsNation show, “Dan Abrams Live,” in February, the media entrepreneur announced Thursday. A NewsNation representative confirmed he’ll remain at the network in a different role to be announced in the coming weeks.
Abrams acknowledged he’s reached a point “where it’s impossible to keep devoting the time needed for this show while also running and growing my other businesses.” He is the chief legal analyst for ABC News, host of a satellite radio show, and host and producer for the Reelz Channel show “On Patrol Live.” He is also the owner of several media brands and websites, including Mediaite and Law & Crime Network.
Abrams signed a multi-year deal with NewsNation in 2023. “Dan is a veteran and master journalist whose passion for media and law and crime has made him one of the most unrivaled in the industry,” President of Nexstar Networks Sean Compton said in a statement at the time. “We are pleased that he will remain at NewsNation as we continue to build a premier cable news network with a distinct mission of fair and unbiased news reporting.”
“Continuing my show with NewsNation is particularly exciting because over the last two years this has been one of those rare professional experiences where everything has been as promised,” Abrams explained at the time. “Every story we cover, every angle I take, comes from my team and me and that makes it fun, challenging, and fulfilling. ‘Dan Abrams Live’ will continue to build on our resonating mission with politically sensible takes on the stories of the day.”
Abrams’ statement appears in full below:
“Ok so now some news about this show . . and me,” Abrams told viewers. “The way I began at NewsNation in 2021 started with a meeting that had nothing to do with hosting a show. I own media and production companies that focus on politics, media and true crime. So the idea was that we might be able to partner with this exciting new cable news channel.”
“NewsNation president Sean Compton and I quickly realized we had a shared vision about where there was a hole in the cable marketplace – compelling, smart, but politically agnostic news coverage. . . We shared the view that every other news channel was effectively cheerleading for one side or another. And as we talked more, the idea of my hosting a nightly show came to life.”
“Now more than three years later, this show and network have been everything Sean, my day-to-day boss Michael Corn, and their boss Nexstar chairman Perry Sook promised,” Abrams continued. “The network has quickly evolved into a major player and most importantly has become, in my view, the fairest cable news channel out there. On my show I do the segments I want to do. . with my takes . . . sometimes more right-leaning, other times more left-leaning and management always supported me . . .without interference.”
“With the help of an amazing production team, I’m incredibly proud of the show we have done day in and day out. With their thoughtful and strategic preparation and efforts at fairness, ad fontes media, which rates accuracy and media bias have us dead center on their right-left media bias chart.”
“But creating this one hour of television takes many hours each day. I take every word, every tease, every guest, every on-screen graphic personally. There is no such thing as mailing it in for any of us, including me.”
“Three years after this really unexpected opportunity, I’ve reached the point where it’s impossible to keep devoting the time needed for this show while also running and growing my other businesses: the now massive Law & Crime network keeps expanding with new projects and YouTube pages,” Abrams added. “Mediaite will be launching a major YouTube platform early next year, and the newest one, Bottle Raiders… on its way to becoming the largest fine spirits media company in the country.”
“As you may know, I also host a weekend show called ‘On Patrol Live’ that follows police in real time, I host a daily radio show on Sirius XM and appear on ABC News as its chief legal analyst. But in my on-air roles, I devote far more of my time to this show than anything else, and as hard as it is for me to admit, it’s not just not practical to do this show all week while also running, and expanding, my businesses.”
“So this show will wind down in early February. I am told that they will announce my replacement next year. But I am thrilled that I will be staying with NewsNation, just not hosting a show every night.”
“So I want to thank all of you for watching. I’ll have more to say about that and the show in February. But most importantly I want to thank my tireless staff led by executive producer Justin Mannato. The hardest part of this for me will be leaving them. They are a truly talented and exceptional group and I can’t say how much I appreciate the hard work they have done to make this show one we are all so proud of,” Abrams also said.
“I will miss it,” he concluded. “I know I will.. but I also need to be practical about what is possible to do every day so there really wasn’t any other choice. More to come.”