A former Bush administration official is reportedly seen by NBC executives as the 'most likely' candidate to replace MSNBC host Rachel Maddow.
Nicolle Wallace, the communications director under former President George W. Bush and current host of MSNBC's Deadline White House, is believed to be the favorite take over the 9pm timeslot, sources told media commentator Dylan Byers.
Byers recently departed NBC himself for startup Puck News, and said the revelations came from 'three sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations'.
Maddow, who has been raking in the most viewers out of any host on the liberal-leaning news network, struck a $30 million per year deal with NBCUniversal officials last month to stay on the network through the 2024 election cycle.
But as part of the agreement, Maddow has the option of ending her nightly show as early as April 30, 2022 and instead work on other projects of her choosing - such as a weekly show, documentary or specials, Byers reports.
Maddow has reportedly been discussing dropping the nightly show for years.
She told the New York Times in 2019: 'I'm realizing now - 10, 11 years into this - that it's fine to work long days. But it's not good for you to work incessant long days, five days a week, 50 weeks a year for 10 years.'
Now, top NBC executives told Byers, 'Nicolle is the most obvious in-house candidate' to replace her.
Nicolle Wallace, right, the host of MSNBC's Deadline White House, is believed to be the favorite to replace Rachel Maddow in the 9pm timeslot
Wallace has previously worked as the communications director for former President George W. Bush, and as a senior adviser on John McCain's campaign in 2008 before transitioning to television as a co-host of The View in 2014.
She found renewed success when she joined NBC as a political analyst the following year, eventually anchoring Deadline: White House, where she has revamped her image as a former Republican who railed against the Trump administration.
'The idea that a former Republican operative could replace a progressive icon like Maddow will surely confound and even ager some MSNBC loyalists,' Byers explained. 'But from the vantage point of NBC's C-suite, it has its logic.
'Wallace is smart, capable, charismatic - "producible" as one former NBC executive put it,' he wrote. 'No one should underestimate how important that is in television, even to a network catering to liberal political sensibilities.
'Today, Wallace may just be a likable Never Trump ex-Republican advocating for competent policy and politics; with the right packaging and marketing, she could become a hero of that cause.
'She is also well-liked by Maddow, several sources say, and would have her blessing.'
Wallace, right, served as the communications director under former President George W. Bush. She is pictured here in the Rose Garden at the White House in 2006 with Tony Snow, Dana Perino, Dan Bartlett and Karl Rove
In 2014, she transitioned to a job in television as a co-host of The View, where she interviewed United States Senator Elizabeth Warren
But she has found new success on MSNBC, joining the network as a political analyst in 2015 before getting her own show in 2017. She is pictured here with MSNBC hosts Brian Williams, Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes in 2019
Other MSNBC hosts had also reportedly been eyeing the 9pm time slot, including Ari Melber, Joy Reid and Chris Hayes.
But Byers said 'several high-level MSNBC insiders regard Hayes and Melber as nonstarters due to their low ratings.
Maddow averaged 2.3 million viewers last month, with NBC officials telling Puck News that much of Hayes' audience comprises people who tuned into her show early.
Reid, meanwhile, has faced controversy for apparently homophobic and anti-Semitic blog posts she made years before she became an MSNBC host.
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