Rachel Maddow has enlisted superagent and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and the now public-company’s president Mark Shapiro to represent her in contract talks with MSNBC and its parent company NBCUniversal.
“Nothing has been decided. We are deep into it with NBCUniversal and Rachel has an excellent relationship with them,” said Shapiro.
A representative for MSNBC noted to TheWrap that the company does not comment on employee matters.
Maddow’s contract is set to expire early next year. She has hosted MSNBC’s 9 p.m. hour since 2008 and her show is the network’s most-watched with 2.3 million viewers in July. In the cable news space, she’s only bested by Fox News’ Tucker Carlon, Sean Hannity and its panel show “The Five.”
The Daily Beast, which first reported on Maddow’s contract talks Thursday, added that Maddow is considering leaving the network to start her own media platform. Rashida Jones took over as MCNBC president earlier this year.