The Wild and Weird History of MSNBC’s 6 PM Hour — Which Now Has a Record-Holding Host

Cable news programming is difficult. In some cases, it’s very difficult, especially in those awkward parts of a daily sked. Morning shows start the day and collect whatever leftover glory hasn’t been gobbled up by prime time hosts. And daytime anchors are charged with mostly “advancing the runners,” to use a baseball metaphor.

But that space between traditional 9-5 daypart and prime time is sort of the nether-region of programming. Cable news “taint,” if you will. And while it’s almost impossible to find the right host for those hours, it’s a critical time as it leads into prime time, where ratings can power an entire network. We don’t need to spell out how much easier it is to draw good ratings when the show before you brings in millions of viewers. (Right Bret Baier?)

There are few television hosts who have dared to exist in this sweaty buffer zone of cable news programming, but one has come out smelling like a rose: MSNBC’s Ari Melber, who as of today is the longest-running host of MSNBC’s 6 p.m. hour in network history.

The 6 p.m. hour of MSNBC has had an absolutely wild series of custodians, ranging from Tucker Carlson and Oliver North to Al Sharpton and Ed Shultz.

It has taken an enormous amount of tinkering to land on Melber, who has now clocked 1,007 shows as host of The Beat, surpassing the previous record held by Al Sharpton. Third in the history of MSNBC’s 6 p.m. slot is Mediaite founder Dan Abrams, who hosted The Abrams Report from 2001 to 2006.

Following the list of Melber’s predecessors is a fascinating anthropological dig into cable news lore. Fox News prime time host Tucker Carlson, the current king of cable news, held the hour for two years. Oliver North, of Iran-Contra infamy, co-hosted a show with Paul Begala.

Mark Halperin, who left MSNBC in disgrace after being accused of sexual harassment, co-hosted a show in the hour with John Heilemann. They were replaced by Greta Van Susteren, who lasted less than a year.

Pat Buchanan, Andrea Mitchell, and Ed Schultz all took a swing at the time slot as well, and eventually ceded their gig to another effort.

There seems to be good reason why MSNBC has kept Melber in place for so long: Ratings.

Prior to the launch of The Beat, the 6 p.m. hour was one of the worst-performing hours for MSNBC, and shows in that timeslot averaged a nine-month run. The Beat is now the most watched show in MSNBC’s 6 p.m. history, and regularly beats CNN in total viewers. Melber has even been closing the gap with Fox News in the demo, performing better against Special Report than any other show before it.

In August, The Beat averaged 1.25 million total viewers, placing above MSNBC’s 7 p.m. host Joy Reid and even prime time host Chris Hayes, whose show airs at 8 p.m. The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Melber’s 6 p.m. competition on CNN, placed far behind with 726,000 total viewers for August.

Ask anyone at NBC News 30 Rock headquarters and, to a person, you will hear that Melber has a very bright future at the network. He brings sharp legal analysis to the show and is a natural at the political impact of unfolding stories. Unlike many of his network cohorts, he is unafraid to bring on guests who will opine against the predictable progressive grain regularly seen on MSNBC. Oh, and Melber is really into hip-hop, a predilection that he does not convey with subtlety.

The Beat, unlike its predecessors, will go on.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.