MSNBC President Rashida Jones is stepping down after four years in office

Rashida Jones, the president of MSNBC, announced Tuesday that she is stepping down after four years at the helm of the cable news network.

Jones, who made history as the first black executive to lead a major U.S. television news network, made the announcement Tuesday morning to top MSNBC anchors, executives and network staff. (MSNBC and NBC News are both units of NBCUniversal.)

Rebecca Kutler, the network’s senior vice president of content strategy, was named interim MSNBC president. Jones, who recruited Kutler to the network in 2022, plans to remain in an advisory role until March.

“I came to this decision over the holidays while reflecting on our remarkable journey and the many successes we have achieved together as a team. This has been the most rewarding chapter of my professional career and I am immensely proud of it , we have achieved that has only been made possible by you,” Jones said in a memo to staff.

The announcement comes nearly two months after Comcast announced a plan to spin off most of its cable TV networks into a separate publicly traded company, currently known as SpinCo. The new company will include MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and the Golf Channel.

Jones took charge of MSNBC in February 2021 following the inauguration of President Joe Biden and the January 6 riots at the US Capitol. She drove MSNBC to ratings triumphs on big political nights.

She retained and signed new long-term deals with the network’s top talent, including Rachel Maddow. She also created a series of live events; relaunched a new mobile app and premium subscription series; and made investments in other digital network offerings.

MSNBC has seen a drop in ratings since the election. The network still finished last year as no. 2 network across cable, with 807,000 average viewers daily and 1.3 million viewers in prime time.

The cable TV business is at a crossroads as consumers move toward streaming alternatives like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. In this business environment, some cable channels remain profitable with healthy cash flows, but other brands have declined rapidly.

In a memo to staff, Mark Lazarus, the incoming CEO of SpinCo, praised Jones for her years leading MSNBC.

“Rashida has expertly navigated MSNBC through a year-long, relentless and unprecedented news cycle, all while driving the network to record ratings and making investments in non-linear businesses. MSNBC is well positioned for the future,” Lazarus said in a memo to staff.

Lazarus told employees on a network call that MSNBC will keep its name after the spin-off transaction is completed.

Jones previously served as senior vice president for NBC News and MSNBC, where he oversaw and directed the production of special events across networks, including election night coverage and presidential debates.

Kutler joined MSNBC from CNN, where she spent two decades, most recently as senior vice president.