Popular MSNBC analyst making move to NBC News, Sports as cable channel spins off

NBC gets Steve Kornacki — and his khakis — in the divorce.

Kornacki, a popular presence on MSNBC during election cycles, when he examines state-level voting data and helps explain how candidates benefit, will take his data-analzying skills to NBC News and NBC Sports as parent company Comcast prepares to spin off the bulk of its cable networks into a new stand-alone entity, NBC News confirmed Tuesday.

Kornacki will hold the title of chief data analyst with both the news and sports division — a contributor role that has a long-term commitment, according to three people familiar with the matter. The Los Angeles Times previously reported the move.

Kornacki is likely to turn up on “Meet the Press,” and has in the past assisted hosts on “Football Night in America” and during the Kentucky Derby and other sports telecasts with break-downs of player stats and more.

The swap suggests NBCUniversal is scanning its employee ranks and trying to determine which employees will serve best on which platform. Andrea Mitchell, for example, recently stepped down from her long-running MSNBC program and took up a role at NBC News.

Even so, talks between Kornacki and NBCUniversal about the new role have been simmering for more than a year, according to one person familiar with the situation.

Because he will work as a contributor, rather than as a full-time employee, Kornacki will be able to seek roles outside NBC that do not conflict with the news and sports roles he will hold at the media conglomerate, according to two people familiar with the matter.

He will likely be missed by MSNBC audiences, who have watched him rise as an on-air regular in long-discarded programs such as “The Cycle” and “Up.”

In 2024, NBCUniversal went so far as to launch a “Kornacki Cam” on its Peacock streaming service. An Election Night live-stream centered on Kornacki as he analyzed polling numbers and incoming voter data.

Kornacki has been with MSNBC since 2012, and got his start as a reporter for a New Jersey political-news site, PoliticsNJ.com, before moving to News 12 New Jersey and Roll Call.