Representing MSNBC Live on the ground for the final forum are hosts Jonathan Capehart, Jen Psaki, and Symone Sanders-Townsend. They’ll take part in a series of moderated discussions with candidates alongside Russert and Mo Elleithee, the institute’s executive director.
“What the future of the Democratic Party looks like is one of the great questions in politics today, so hosting this forum and giving our students the chance to hear from—and directly question—those who seek to lead the DNC was a no-brainer,” Elleithee said in a statement. “We are thrilled to once again co-host with MSNBC to take this conversation to a broader audience.”
MSNBC Live is coming off of a busy 2024 that saw it expand its offerings from an invite-only Washington, D.C. event last March to a Comic-Con like takeover over of the Brooklyn Academy of Music in September. TVNewser was in the house for the afternoon portion of the latter event—officially titled MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024—and watched 4,000 of the network’s most devoted fans cheer, applaud, and snap selfies with their favorite hosts, including Joy Reid and Alex Wagner.
Democracy 2024 notably wasn’t livestreamed on YouTube, although portions of the event were compiled into a two-hour recap program that aired on the network on Sept. 14. Using that platform to as its hub for the DNC forum indicates how MSNBC is expanding its digital footprint as part of the news industry’s larger shift away from linear programming.
MSNBC estimates that it attracted 3.1 billion viewers to its YouTube channel in 2024, making it the year’s most-watched news outlet on the platform. The network also reports six billion video views across its various social media accounts, including Instagram, the nearly-imperiled TikTok, and X, formerly Twitter. Year-to-year, MSNBC estimates a +32% spike in its YouTube audience, and a +109% rise in its social video views.
That digital performance—and the growth of the MSNBC Live brand—balances MSNBC’s recent linear ratings struggles following Donald Trump‘s victory in the presidential election and return to the Oval Office. This year, the network also faces the departure of its popular president, Rashida Jones, and an impending split from the NBCUniversal News Group to join SpinCo alongside many of NBCUniversal’s other cable assets, including CNBC.
