MS NOW Is Planning a Texas Invasion

MS NOW is planning a roadtrip to Texas, taking its annual fan gathering on the road to the Lone Star State, in what the cable news channel says will be its biggest live event yet (you know what they say about Texas, after all).

The channel will host MS NOW Live: Together In Texas, Sep. 26, taking over College Park Center at the University of Texas at Arlington, and inviting thousands of its fans along for the ride. Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Jen Psaki, Stephanie Ruhle, Ali Velshi, Ari Melber, Chris Hayes, Symone Sanders Townsend, Alicia Menendez, Jacob Soboroff, Texas native Eugene Daniels, Michael Steele, Luke Russert, and Rev. Al Sharpton are among the talent expected to participate.

The event was announced in a memo to staff Tuesday by MS NOW president Rebecca Kutler.

“Texas sits at the center of many of the defining conversations shaping this election cycle and our country, from democracy and voting rights to immigration, education, and the economy,” Kutler wrote. “As those conversations continue to unfold, we want to be there, not only to cover them but to bring our community together in the places where those stories are happening.”

MS NOW launched its live franchise as MSNBC Live in 2023, and held its first event in New York in 2024, drawing thousands of attendees to Brooklyn. Last year it moved it to Manhattan. The Texas event will be the first flagship event to be held outside of the New York area (the channel held a smaller event in Philadelphia earlier this year). But Dallas-Fort Worth is nonetheless a gamble, a bet that MS NOW’s audience spans the entire country, not just the coasts, and that they will want to participate.

“With a consequential midterm election only a few months away, we’re bringing our trusted anchors and reporters together to directly engage with our audience for a day filled with lively discussions, meaningful connections, and unforgettable moments that will highlight the power of democracy and community during such a critical point in our country’s history,” said Lauren Peikoff, executive producer of MS NOW Live.

The event is also serving as a launchpad of sorts for MS NOW’s upcoming membership program, which will include live streaming of the linear channel alongside interactive and community features. MS NOW says attendees of the Texas event will get one year to the membership program included in their ticket.

“While this is our biggest live event yet, it’s also part of something much bigger,” Kutler wrote. “Over the past year, we’ve continued to grow across every platform where audiences expect to find us. Millions of people watch us every week on television, billions engage with our journalism across YouTube and TikTok, our podcasts continue to reach new audiences, and our digital journalism is connecting with more readers than ever before.

“This is all setting the stage for later this summer, when we’ll take another important step with the launch of our first-ever membership experience, creating even more opportunities for our audience to engage with our journalism and with each other,” she continued.