Jump to content

The Beat with Ari Melber

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Beat with Ari Melber
GenreU.S. news/politics
Presented byAri Melber
Country of originUnited States
Production
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkMSNBC
ReleaseJuly 24, 2017 (2017-07-24) –
present

The Beat with Ari Melber is an American news and politics program[1] hosted by Ari Melber, who is the chief legal correspondent for the network MSNBC.

It airs weekdays at 6 PM ET and is one of the "most-watched news programs on cable."[2][3] In 2023, The A.P. reported “'The Beat' is often the most-watched [show] on MSNBC. The Emmy-winning NBC News legal analyst ... brings a methodical, 'follow the facts' style to the issues he addresses."[4]

The New York Times reported The Beat's ratings "outranked everything else on MSNBC" in 2023. The Beat was "the highest-rated non-Fox News show in the [ratings] demo" on cable news, (AdWeek November 2023).[5]

The Beat is one of the most viewed shows online, per Daily Beast -- drawing over a billion total streams, a "notable feat for a cable news program" (CNN's Reliable Sources).[6]

Format

[edit]

The show features news reporting, one-on-one interviews, panels, and special reports[7] by the anchor. The show includes a "Fallback Friday" segment; two series with extended interviews, "Mavericks," and "The Summit Series," and "Open Mind."

History

[edit]

The Beat with Ari Melber was announced after Greta Van Susteren's program For the Record with Greta ended.[8] The network tapped Melber as one of its "most valuable utility players" for anchoring the 6 p.m. slot, according to the Associated Press,[9] an effort to shore up an hour when MSNBC has historically drawn fewer viewers, trailing cable stars Bret Baier and Wolf Blitzer, who host the 6 p.m. shows on Fox News and CNN, respectively. Upon its debut, it was part of MSNBC's evening ratings surge among key demographics on cable television, and went on to draw a larger nightly audience than any hour of CNN.[10][11]

The Beat with Ari Melber has been noted for its reporting on Facebook's role in elections and journalism.[12] Mediaite wrote about its coverage of Facebook's role in the 2016 Philippines election, noting "host Ari Melber has carved out an important niche as arguably the leading critic of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in all of television."[13]

Notable interviews Melber has conducted include U.S. Senator and later Vice President Kamala Harris, fellow senators Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin, Mark Warner, and Cory Booker; Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had a newsworthy legal exchange on the show,[14] former White House adviser Stephen Bannon, former Trump aide Sam Nunberg, who later credited the interview for his decision to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller,[15] also Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has appeared on the show multiple times and musician Talib Kweli, who joined a discussion with Fat Joe and conservative Bill Kristol that Fortune called "one of the most delightfully diverse panels ever. Really."[16][17]

The show also features musical and cultural guests, such as 50 Cent, Method Man, Vic Mensa, French Montana, Black Panther actor Winston Duke, Sean Penn, novelist Alice Walker, Andrew Leon Talley, DJs Stretch Armstrong, Bobbito Garcia and Jay Smooth, Desus and The Kid Mero (who both co-host Desus & Mero), and the rapper Havoc, (who noted Melber quoted his lyrics to explain a legal concept[18] and announced a forthcoming Mobb Deep album in an interview on the show).[19][20]

In 2024, as part of changes to its weekend schedule, MSNBC introduced The Beat Weekend—a week-in-review broadcast that airs on Saturday afternoons. Segments from the program are also featured on MSNBC Prime Weekend—a sister program airing on Sundays that draws from MSNBC's weekday programs.[21]

Reception

[edit]

The Detroit Free Press named The Beat with Ari Melber to its "best" TV shows of 2017, noting its reporting "helped untangle the implications of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, revealing the actual law obscured by the partisan posturing of so many cable news formats."[22]

In 2023, The Beat's ratings "outranked everything else on MSNBC," the New York Times reported.[23]

TVNewser reported that in 2017, The Beat with Ari Melber "defeated CNN in total viewers this year, and delivered the network's largest yearly audience ever" for its 6 p.m. timeslot.[24] Forbes reported in 2017, the show delivered "MSNBC's best rating ever for the time slot," noting "MSNBC saw total day growth of 38%" in ratings, while "Melber's 6 p.m. slot saw growth of 56%."[25]

TVNewser noted in February 2018, The Beat and Deadline: White House "posted record viewership in MSNBC history for their timeslots,"[26] and The Beat continued its ratings growth in 2018,[27] averaging 1.7 million viewers per night in September 2018—more viewers than CNN's 6 p.m. show and more viewers than every other CNN show in prime time.[28]

The program's guest hosts include Jason Johnson, Katie Phang, Ayman Mohyeldin, and Melissa Murray.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Steinberg, Brian (July 21, 2017). "MSNBC to Launch 'The Beat With Ari Melber' on Monday". Variety. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  2. ^ Steinberg, Brian (2023-09-19). "MSNBC Isn't Using Blue-State Chatter to Build a Daytime Nation". Variety. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
  3. ^ "The New Prime Time for TV News: Afternoons (Published 2023)". 2023-03-16. Archived from the original on 2024-10-12. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
  4. ^ "All Trump, all the time? Former president's legal problems a boon to MSNBC". AP News. 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  5. ^ Katz, A. J. (2023-11-30). "Here Are Top-Rated Cable News Shows of November 2023". Retrieved 2024-12-14.
  6. ^ Grove, Lloyd (2019-04-26). "Even Trump's Personal Attorney Loves MSNBC's Ari Melber". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  7. ^ Warren, James (November 10, 2017). "What Donald Trump and P.T. Barnum Have in Common". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  8. ^ Evans, Greg (July 21, 2017). "MSNBC's 'The Beat With Ari Melber' Gets Premiere Date, Title". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  9. ^ Bauder, David (July 21, 2017). "Ari Melber tries to improve a troubled time slot at MSNBC". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  10. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (July 25, 2017). "MSNBC Clocks Cable's Largest Weekday Primetime Crowd For First Time In Its History". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  11. ^ Berg, Madeline (June 29, 2017). "Greta Van Susteren Out And Ari Melber In At MSNBC". Forbes. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  12. ^ Kosoff, Maya (December 28, 2017). "Mark Zuckerberg's Plan to Save Facebook from Itself". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  13. ^ DePaolo, Joe (December 27, 2017). "Ari Melber Shreds Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook Will 'Work With Anyone' For Money, Even Duterte". Mediaite.com. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  14. ^ Marcin, Tim (January 15, 2018). "Joe Arpaio found out he admitted guilt with Trump pardon on live TV". Newsweek. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  15. ^ Parker, Ashley; Dawsey, Josh (March 6, 2018). "Ex-Trump aide Sam Nunberg changes tune, says he will cooperate with Mueller probe". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  16. ^ McGirt, Ellen (October 12, 2017). "raceAhead: Mark Zuckerberg's Apology Is Not Enough". Fortune. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  17. ^ "Talib Kweli & Fat Joe Talk Eminem's Trump Diss With MSNBC's Ari Melber". The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired. 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  18. ^ "Havoc Applauds MSNBC Anchor Who Quoted Mobb Deep Lyrics To Insult Donald Trump". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  19. ^ Saponara, Michael (March 13, 2018). "Havoc Reveals a New Mobb Deep Album Will Arrive in 2018". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  20. ^ Darville, Jordan (March 13, 2018). "Havoc says a new Mobb Deep album is coming this year". The Fader. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  21. ^ "How MSNBC is repackaging weekday content for weekend shows". NewscastStudio. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  22. ^ Hinds, Julie (December 29, 2017). "2017 entertainment bests: Top TV choices for coping with current events". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  23. ^ "The New Prime Time for TV News: Afternoons (Published 2023)". 2023-03-16. Archived from the original on 2024-10-12. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
  24. ^ Katz, A.J. "Scoreboard: Friday, December 1". Adweek.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  25. ^ Berg, Madeline (January 16, 2018). "Mixing Rap And Politics, MSNBC's Ari Melber Produces A Hit". Forbes. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  26. ^ Katz, A.J. (February 27, 2018). "Feb. 2018 Ratings: MSNBC Is the No. 2 Network on Cable". Adweek.com. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  27. ^ "August 2018 Ratings: MSNBC Posts Year-Over-Year Total Audience Growth". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  28. ^ Schaal, Eric (2019-01-31). "Why Does MSNBC's Ari Melber Have So Many More Viewers Than CNN's Wolf Blitzer?". The Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
[edit]
Preceded by MSNBC Weekday Lineup
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Beat_with_Ari_Melber&oldid=1263107279"