Ventura's MSNBC Show Placed on Indefinite Hiatus

[MrRant 0]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Minnesota governor and pro wrestler Jesse Ventura's brief career as a television host is on the mat and possibly down for the count.

 

A spokeswoman for cable news channel MSNBC said on Wednesday that Ventura's Saturday evening talk show, "Jesse Ventura's America," has been taken off the air with no immediate plans to bring it back.

 

MSNBC President Erik Sorenson disclosed the move in a staff memorandum this week, saying he wanted to focus the network's resources next year on prime-time hours Monday through Friday, the spokeswoman said.

 

However, Ventura will continue to serve as a political commentator for MSNBC, a unit of General Electric Co., during the 2004 campaign season, she said.

 

Ventura's show, taped before a live audience in St. Paul, Minnesota, debuted in October with then-California Gov. Gray Davis (news - web sites) and political columnist Arianna Huffington appearing as his first guests. The combative, bald-pated host closed each segment by picking a "hero" and a "dork" of the week.

 

The show, which has struggled in the ratings, originally was conceived by MSNBC as a nightly prime-time program but was scaled back to Saturday evenings only by the time it launched.

 

The flamboyant former grappler once known as "The Body" previously served as a commentator for the short-lived XFL (news - web sites) football league, a joint venture between his onetime WWE boss Vince McMahon and MSNBC's sister broadcast network, NBC.

 

The demise of Ventura's show is the latest in a string of high-profile misfires to dog MSNBC this year. In February, the cable channel canceled Phil Donahue's nightly program after just six months on the air, citing poor ratings. In July, controversial talk show host Michael Savage was fired after wishing AIDS (news - web sites) on a caller.

[Guest subliminal_animal]

Michael Savage? Like Macho Man Randy Savage?!

[Guest JMA]

Off-topic: I like the new avatar, Rant.

 

Edit: Just checked the URL for the image. Wow. A French MWC fansite. I didn't see that coming...

[MrRant 0]

MWC is big in France and Germany suprisingly.

[Guest JMA]

MWC is big in France and Germany suprisingly.

Well, it is a great show. I can see how it would have international appeal.

[Guest subliminal_animal]

Rumor has it that Macho Man Randy Savage has international appeal.

[NoCalMike 0]

I saw the show a couple of times, it was decent. What kind of ratings does MSNBC want at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon?

[Lando Griffin 0]

Ventura/Barkley in 2004!

[MillenniumMan831 0]

Ventura/Barkley in 2004!

The only episode I saw. I thought it was good enough to keep on the air.

[Guest MikeSC]

I saw the show a couple of times, it was decent. What kind of ratings does MSNBC want at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon?

MSNBC didn't want to air it PERIOD. Let's be honest, they delayed it ad infinitum and didn't even promote its debut for a reason.

-=Mike

[Vern Gagne 0]

The cost of filming in Minnesota was expensive, and Ventura wouldn't do it anywhere else.

[Guest JMA]

So, will The Ultimate Warrior get a show now?

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

So, will The Ultimate Warrior get a show now?

Maybe they can call it "Conservative Destructicity".

[Vyce 0]

I would not only watch a weekly Warrior show on MSNBC, I'd tape it as well.

 

It would be pure comedy GOLD and you KNOW it.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

I would not only watch a weekly Warrior show on MSNBC, I'd tape it as well.

 

It would be pure comedy GOLD and you KNOW it.

Over/Under on the number of weeks on the air until challenges are laid out to Hogan and/or Savage?