| The Beat with Ari Melber | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | U.S. news/politics |
| Directed by | Rob Katko, Ken Neben |
| Presented by | Ari Melber |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | MSNBC |
| Release | July 24, 2017 (2017-07-24) – November 14, 2025 (2025-11-14) |
| Network | MS NOW |
| Release | November 17, 2025 (2025-11-17) – present |
The Beat with Ari Melber is an American news and politics program[1] hosted byAri Melber, who is the chief legal correspondent for the networkMS NOW (formerly MSNBC).
The show airs weekdays at 6 p.m. ET and, as of May 2025, is the second-most-watched cable news program in its time slot by total viewers and third-most-watched by the key A24-54 demo.[2]
The show features news reporting, one-on-one interviews, panels, and special reports[3] by the anchor. The show includes a "Fallback Friday" segment; two series with extended interviews, "Mavericks," and "The Summit Series," and "Open Mind."
The program's guest hosts includeJason Johnson,Katie Phang,Ayman Mohyeldin, andMelissa Murray.
The Beat with Ari Melber was announced afterGreta Van Susteren's programFor the Record with Greta ended.[4] The network tapped Melber as one of its "most valuable utility players" for anchoring the 6 p.m. slot, according to theAssociated Press,[5] an effort to shore up an hour when MSNBC has historically drawn fewer viewers, trailing cable starsBret Baier andWolf Blitzer, who host the 6 p.m. shows onFox News andCNN, respectively. Upon its debut, it was part of MSNBC's evening ratings surge amongkey demographics oncable television, and went on to draw a larger nightly audience than any hour of CNN.[6][7]
The Beat with Ari Melber has been noted for its reporting onFacebook's role in elections and journalism.[8]Mediaite wrote about its coverage of Facebook's role in the2016 Philippines election, noting "host Ari Melber has carved out an important niche as arguably the leading critic of Facebook CEOMark Zuckerberg in all of television."[9]
Notable interviews Melber has conducted includeU.S. Senator and laterVice PresidentKamala Harris, fellow senatorsElizabeth Warren,Jeff Merkley,Richard Blumenthal,Dick Durbin,Mark Warner, andCory Booker; SheriffJoe Arpaio, who had a newsworthy legal exchange on the show,[10] former White House adviserStephen Bannon, former Trump aideSam Nunberg, who later credited the interview for his decision to cooperate withSpecial CounselRobert Mueller,[11] alsoDonald Trump's former lawyerMichael Cohen has appeared on the show multiple times and musicianTalib Kweli, who joined a discussion withFat Joe and conservativeBill Kristol thatFortune called "one of the most delightfully diverse panels ever. Really."[12][13]
The show also features musical and cultural guests, such as50 Cent, Method Man, Vic Mensa,French Montana,Black Panther actorWinston Duke, Sean Penn, novelist Alice Walker, Andrew Leon Talley, DJs Stretch Armstrong,Bobbito Garcia andJay Smooth,Desus andThe Kid Mero (who both co-hostDesus & Mero), and the rapperHavoc, (who noted Melber quoted his lyrics to explain a legal concept[14] and announced a forthcomingMobb Deep album in an interview on the show).[15][16]
In 2020,The Beat was nominated for "Outstanding Live Interview" at the41st News and Documentary Emmy Awards,[17] and nominated in the same category for a 2024 "interview with Trump aide Stephen Miller"[18] at the 46th News and Documentary Emmy Awards.[19][20]
In 2024, as part of changes to its weekend schedule, MSNBC introducedThe Beat Weekend—a week-in-review broadcast that airs on Saturday afternoons. Segments from the program are also featured onMSNBC Prime Weekend—a sister program airing on Sundays that draws from MSNBC's weekday programs.[21]
TheDetroit Free Press namedThe Beat with Ari Melber to its "best" TV shows of 2017, noting its reporting "helped untangle the implications of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, revealing the actual law obscured by the partisan posturing of so many cable news formats."[22]
In 2023, The Beat's ratings "outranked everything else on MSNBC," the New York Times reported.[23]
TVNewser reported that in 2017,The Beat with Ari Melber "defeated CNN in total viewers this year, and delivered the network's largest yearly audience ever" for its 6 p.m. timeslot.[24]Forbes reported in 2017, the show delivered "MSNBC's best rating ever for the time slot," noting "MSNBC saw total day growth of 38%" in ratings, while "Melber's 6 p.m. slot saw growth of 56%."[25]
TVNewser noted in February 2018,The Beat andDeadline: White House "posted record viewership in MSNBC history for their timeslots,"[26] andThe Beat continued its ratings growth in 2018,[27] averaging 1.7 million viewers per night in September 2018—more viewers than CNN's 6 p.m. show and more viewers than every other CNN show in prime time.[28]
In 2023,The Associated Press reported "The Beat is often the most-watched [show] on MSNBC.", adding that Melber "brings a methodical, 'follow the facts' style to the issues he addresses."[29]
The New York Times reportedThe Beat's ratings "outranked everything else on MSNBC" in 2023.The Beat was "the highest-rated non-Fox News show in the [ratings] demo" on cable news, according toAdWeek in November 2023.[30]
The Beat is one of the most viewed shows online, perDaily Beast -- drawing over a billion total streams, a "notable feat for a cable news program" (CNN'sReliable Sources).[31]
The show's "reach goes well beyond the dwindling number of people who watch cable television," wrote theLos Angeles Times in 2023, reporting onThe Beat's YouTube ratings.[32] "The Beat" can average 700,000 YouTube views per day,[33]
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| Preceded by | MS NOW Weekday Lineup 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm | Succeeded by |