Just one week after the first anniversary of the network, MSNBC announced Monday that Edgewise, one of the network's most highly regarded shows, will be canceled. The sophisticated weekly talk-show, hosted by Dateline correspondent John Hockenberry, addressed a range of subject matters and featured eclectic guests, including playwright Wendy Wasserstein, poet Allen Ginsberg, and jazz saxophonist Joshua Redmond.
Edgewise, which airs Saturday nights, was unique on the MSNBC lineup because of its once-a-week format. With the majority of programs scheduled five days a week, "it was hard to sustain a once-a-week show on a network at this stage in our development," said MSNBC spokesperson Lauren Leff. "It comes down to a basic tweaking of our schedule."
Though the show had a loyal group of viewers, says Leff, "with our limited distribution and our infancy, it was really difficult ... for it to find a solid audience." MSNBC, which is currently available in 38 million households, signed last month with Neilsen ratings system, and has no concrete figures on the number of viewers of the show.
The only other once-a-week program, Weekend Magazine with Stone Phillips, will continue, says Leff, because it is "a different animal," largely composed of selections from NBC's Dateline and Dateline International.
Leff also noted that with the recent arrival of Keith Olbermann from ESPN, MSNBC will be making other changes to their prime-time lineup to accommodate a daily sports program now in development.
John Hockenberry will continue to contribute to NBC's Dateline, and Edgewise will continue to air through Labor Day weekend.
From the Wired News New York Bureau at FEEDmagazine.
