Revamped Program Schedule Completed At MS NOW

MS NOW premiered “State of Play with Peter Alexander” on Monday 11 a.m. ET, completing the network’s schedule overhaul.

The new weekday program, hosted by the network’s chief national reporter and breaking news anchor from Washington, D.C., will feature authoritative reporting, thoughtful conversations, and in-depth analysis of the day’s major political and national stories. It is executive produced by Sandi Cohen.In a staff memo, SVP of programming Greg Kordick described the show as built around Alexander’s “trusted reporting, deep experience covering Washington, and unmatched relationships across government and beyond.”

Alexander joined MS NOW from NBC News in March after nearly two decades there, most recently serving as chief White House correspondent and co-anchor of Saturday Today.The program is the final piece of a June scheduling revamp that touched all dayparts. MS NOW has already launched Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle (two hours starting at 9 a.m.), On the Line with Alicia Menendez (12–2 p.m.), and renamed Katy Tur’s midafternoon show The Moment with Katy Tur. Ruhle’s former 11 p.m. slot is now The 11th Hour with Ali Velshi, while weekend mornings (Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.) air as Connect with Jacob Soboroff.

Weekend primetime changes included the June cancellation of The Weekend: Primetime, with the network shifting focus to re-airs of its video podcasts and Crooked on MS NOW programming.