MS NOW Doubles Down on Crooked Media, Adding ‘Lovett or Leave It’ to Weekend Lineup (Exclusive)

MS NOW is doubling down on its partnership with Crooked Media, adding the political comedy show Lovett or Leave It to its Saturday night lineup. The show, hosted by former Obama speechwriter and Pod Save America co-host Jon Lovett, will run on MS NOW Saturdays at 11 p.m. after Crooked Media’s current block of podcast programming, beginning Sep. 12. The show features Lovett and a panel of guests from the worlds of politics, comedy, journalism and business discussing and poking fun at the news of the week. MS NOW inked a deal with Crooked earlier this year for the block, which features segments and clips from shows like Runaway Country with Alex Wagner (an MS NOW contributor), Strict Scrutiny, Pod Save the World, Hysteria, Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams, Offline with Jon Favreau and What A Day. The deal for Lovett or Leave It expands on that partnership, and underscores how MS NOW is filling hours with podcast programming and other fare, rather than turning to reruns of other shows, which have often filled off-hours on the weekend. The channel has also plugged in some of its own podcast programming into weekend hours. MS NOW says that Crooked Media’s current block is reaching a new audience, with half of its viewers new to watching its Saturday night lineup, and nearly two-thirds of its viewers under 55 also new to the channel. It’s a bet that digital consumers who regularly consume Crooked content may check out the more packaged version on TV. And the deal underscores the shifting and increasingly blurred boundaries between digital media and linear media, especially in the realm of political news and commentary, where traditional cable channels like MS NOW are trying to forge a more direct path forward with their viewers and audience. It also highlights MS NOW parent company’s Versant’s continued investments into both the linear channel and digital offerings. Versant has also rebooted its free Fandango streaming offering, and is launching new products for CNBC alongside MS NOW’s membership program.