MS NOW launched its paid membership Wednesday with five members-only shows led by Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell and other network personalities, expanding its new $7.99-per-month direct-to-consumer offering.
The membership also features a moderated community, a personalized daily briefing and access to the cable news network’s 24/7 television feed.
The programming slate includes “Rachel Maddow: In Conversation With…,” a monthly long-form interview series exploring politics, history and public life.
O’Donnell will host “The Very Last Word,” a weekly behind-the-scenes look at something he could not fit into his television program. Ali Velshi will examine polling and voter data each Thursday on “Off the Charts,” while former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann will answer members’ questions about major legal developments on a weekly show.
Former Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri will host “Political Potluck,” featuring kitchen-table conversations with lawmakers, officials and other guests. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will appear in the first installment, followed by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
The membership costs $7.99 per month or $79.99 annually. Through Sept. 30, new members can receive their first full year for an introductory price of $39.99, plus tax.
The programs join MS NOW’s television feed and the twice-daily live Q&As and mindfulness offerings announced Tuesday.
The membership is organized into five sections: For You, Watch, Connect, Breathe and Explore.
Its Connect section includes a Community Hub where users can participate in moderated discussions about the news, MS NOW programs and shared interests. Anchors, reporters, contributors and experts will regularly join the conversations.
Members can also stream MS NOW’s live events through Connect, beginning with “MS NOW Live: Together in Texas” on Sept. 26.
At a press briefing at Versant’s Times Square headquarters Tuesday, MS NOW president Rebecca Kutler said the community concept grew partly out of the network’s in-person events. Executives noticed that attendees were not only coming to see its personalities, but were also meeting one another, exchanging contact information and looking for ways to remain connected.
MS NOW SVP of content strategy Marcus Mabry said the network developed the membership around three concerns raised by news consumers: feeling overwhelmed by the volume of information, isolated from others and anxious about the country.
The product was designed to answer those concerns through what Mabry called “concise curation,” connection and agency. The experience is intended to let members catch up on the news in approximately 10 to 30 minutes.
The launch follows more than a year of development informed by over 18,000 survey responses, individual consumer conversations, product testing and an early beta program.
“What we are doing today is just the beginning,” Kutler said, adding that MS NOW expects the membership to evolve as it learns which features and programs users value.
For now, its personalized For You section begins with a Daily Briefing containing eight to 10 clips, while the main Top Stories feed is capped at 10 links. Unlike the infinite feeds employed by many digital platforms, users can reach the end of MS NOW’s primary news feed and then move into Breathe, a section featuring guided meditations produced with Calm.
Mabry said editors can add another story only by removing one already in the feed.
“That’s the end of the news scroll,” he said.
