NBC News anchor Craig Melvin is giving up his MSNBC hour
NBC News anchor Craig Melvin is stepping back from MSNBC, where he presents a daily hour of news in the morning.
An MSNBC representative confirmed Monday that Melvin will give up the 11 a.m. Eastern hour on the cable news channel March 31. He remains as the news anchor of NBC's "Today" and co-host of the program's third hour. He also hosts the syndicated version of NBC's true crime newsmagazine "Dateline."
Melvin has performed double duty as an anchor for MSNBC and "Today" since 2016.
Melvin frequently travels for "Today," which has at times kept him out of the MSNBC anchor chair.
A rotating lineup of MSNBC anchors will host the 11a.m. hour of "MSNBC Reports" until a new anchor is announced.
MSNBC is undergoing a number of programming shifts in the coming months. "Morning Joe," the daily Beltway-focused morning program with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, will expand to four hours starting April 4.
MSNBC will also have to fill the prime time slot held by its most popular host, Rachel Maddow, who is expected to leave her daily program this summer.
Earlier this month, Stephanie Ruhle took over "The 11th Hour," the nightly program that featured former "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams.
Williams decided not to renew his contract with NBC News in December and has yet to reveal his future professional plans.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
