MSNBC and 10pm…

Following up on yesterday’s AP news, the AP’s David Bauder expands on the story of MSNBC dropping 10pm expansion plans for now…

MSNBC may give up entirely on the idea of putting a new live show in that time slot, Griffin said.

“We’re not going to mess with it until we see where it levels off,” he said. “It places the burden, if we are going to put a show there, (for it) to be a big show because the repeat of ‘Countdown’ is doing so well.”

The statistics have taken MSNBC by surprise. Griffin said it seems many viewers who are putting children to bed or are otherwise busy at 8 p.m. prefer to watch at 10.

NBC News has a big financial incentive to keep things the way they are. It costs the network nothing to show the rerun, while a new program would cost millions of dollars for on-air talent and production costs.

Cenk Uygur, one of “The Young Turks,” said he believed MSNBC would do even better in the ratings with a new show but he understood the decision.

“I’m not put off by that,” he said. “We’re in a good position. We’re almost certain to get on TV one way or another.”