One of those is new blood in the form of Smith, who abruptly quit Fox late last year after on-air skirmishes with Tucker Carlson and other primetime hosts. Smith has had conversations with MSNBC President Phil Griffin about a potential gig when his non-compete clause expires, although his price tag is expected to be considerable for any interested network.

“It’s unclear what slot he would take, but we’d want him in primetime,” an MSNBC insider told The Daily Beast. “We are well aware [Jeff] Zucker [president of CNN] is also pursuing him, as are a number of the networks.”