6 PM slot prior to renaming PoliticsNation was the formal renaming of the 6 PM weekday slot that had been occupied by a broadcast named
MSNBC Live (sharing the same "generic" title as the primary morning-to-afternoon rolling-news program primarily staffed by anchors.) Sharpton had served as host of the slot since July, and was preceded by
Cenk Uygur from January to June. Prior to Uygur, the slot had been occupied by
The Ed Show from April 6, 2009, to January 24, 2011 (eventually moving to the 10 PM slot following
Keith Olbermann's departure from MSNBC), and by
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue from March 17, 2008 (as
Race to the White House) to April 3, 2009.
Al Sharpton and MSNBC Sharpton's involvement with MSNBC began after June 29, 2011, when he became the primary substitute host for
The Ed Show, leading to press speculation that Sharpton could attain his own series on the network in the vein of
Rachel Maddow (who attained
her own series in 2008 after serving as
Keith Olbermann's primary substitute host on
Countdown with Keith Olbermann),
Lawrence O'Donnell (who attained
his own series in 2010 after having served as Olbermann's primary substitute host) and
Chris Hayes (who attained
his own weekend series beginning in mid-September 2011 after having served as a regular fill-in for both Maddow, Olbermann, and O'Donnell before attaining
his weekday series in April 2013). In August 2015, it was announced that the series would move to just once a week on Sundays at 8AM starting on October 4, 2015. The series aired its final weekday episode on September 4, 2015. In October, 2020,
PoliticsNation was rescheduled to Saturdays and Sundays, airing at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time both days. ==Reception==