# @wired on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdHim8GAHY2
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70466640-wired-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/29959e5735.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-10T21:02:17.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** WIRED (@wired) — https://gondola.cc/wired

## Caption

Even if you’re a casual consumer of MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, you know the names: anchors like Chris Hayes, Stephanie Ruhl, and yes, the one and only Rachel Maddow. The network has built a stable of talent who’ve amassed a massive number of casual viewers, plenty of fans … and more than a few obsessives.

Now, the network’s president, Rebecca Kutler, is looking to build that entire audience into something more akin to a fandom—turning casual viewers and fanatics alike, whether on TV or online, into paying members of an MS NOW media universe.

To do it, she’s launching an ambitious subscription program, called Membership, designed to connect MS NOW consumers much more directly to the Hayeses and Maddows of the world. Sure, plenty of news providers now offer subscriptions, WIRED included. But what stood out about Kutler and Co.’s efforts was both their methodical approach—they surveyed 18,000 people before landing on a final offering—and their resolute focus on MS NOW’s deep bench of talent as the locus of their paid program. In a world where influencers are the new newscasters, and linear TV is in an inevitable decline, MS NOW is diving directly into the breach: applying the influencer playbook to build a sustainable business that’s future-proofed … at least until the next great audience pivot.

WIRED’s Global Editorial Director Katie Drummond caught up with Kutler at WIRED’s New York studios, just days before MS NOW’s subscription launch. They talked about turning TV talent into fandom magnets, beating Fox, and whether media consolidation is actually good news for the network.

Tap the 🔗 in bio for the full episode. 

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## Tags

uncannyvalley, thebiginterview

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