MSNBC president Rashida Jones is stepping down

MSNBC President Rashida Jones is stepping down from that position, the company said Tuesday, a major change at the news network just days before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office.

Rebecca Kutler, senior vice president of content strategy at MSNBC, succeeds Ms. Jones as interim president, effective immediately. Mrs. Jones will remain in an advisory role until March.

“Rebecca is the ideal leader to guide us through this moment, and I look forward to working with her as we shape our collective future together,” Mark Lazarus, the chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, said in a note to employees.

Mrs. Jones’ exit comes amid industry pressure for the cable news industry, which has seen declining ratings following the US presidential election. MSNBC has been the second most-watched cable network during that period, ahead of CNN but behind longtime ratings leader Fox News.

Network executives are hopeful that audiences will return when Mr. Trump takes office and viewers look to dissect his early policy moves. On Monday, the company announced that Rachel Maddow, its most popular host, would temporarily return to airing her one-hour show every weeknight at 9:00 PM Eastern in the Mr. Trump’s first 100 days in office.

MSNBC is among a bundle of cable channels that its parent company, Comcast, plans to spin off later this year into a new company. CNBC, another news channel in Comcast’s cable portfolio, is also being spun off along with entertainment networks like USA and Syfy.

Mrs. Kutler is a cable news executive with experience in the streaming industry. Before joining MSNBC in 2022, Ms. Kutler was a key architect of CNN+, the ambitious streaming news service that was shut down by Warner Bros. Discovery the same year.

This is a development story. Check back for updates.