Ed Schultz Leaving Primetime, Who Will Replace Him?

Ed Schultz is leaving his current time slot on MSNBC and moving "The Ed Show" to the weekends. Now speculation has started regarding who will take over the primetime spot.

Ed Schultz announced during his show on Wednesday that it will be leaving the 8pm weeknight time slot and moving to weekend evenings. "The Ed Show" will air from 5 to 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

This Thursday will be the last at the current time and the weekend show will start next month.

Schultz said that the move was his choice. "I raised my hand for this assignment for a number of personal and professional reasons," he said.

"My fight on 'The Ed Show' has been for the workers and the middle class. This new time slot will give me the opportunity to produce and focus on stories that I care about and are important to American families and American workers."

The TV host also claimed that he did not want to remain in front of a camera five nights a week and the new time slot would give him the opportunity to travel.

Previous reports, however, have suggested MSNBC has wanted to replace him for some time now.

While Schultz seems excited and ready for a new weekend program, it is a considerably less prestigious time.

His current slot is the most coveted in television, and put him head-to-head with other big news names Anderson Cooper and Bill O'Reilly.

MSNBC has been trying to beef up weekend programming, but the timing is just not right to make even the most popular hosts successful.

There is no real doubt that Ed Schultz will do well after leaving his current time, his ratings are high and audience numbers have remained solid since the show's beginning, but what is MSNBC going to do with the empty primetime spot?

The network has spent its last year building up credibility for hosts like Chris Hayes, Melissa Harris-Perry and Ezra Klein. Each of the new stars have a much different approach for MSNBC than Schultz.

The network has not yet confirmed who will replace Ed Schultz's "The Ed Show," but the buzz around the rumor mill makes Klein seem like the most likely choice.

MSNBC president Phil Griffin said he was "thrilled" for the Schultz's move. "It's an exciting time for MSNBC, and I'm looking forward to having Ed's powerful voice on our network for a long time," he said.

Schultz's leaving was announced just after an exclusive interview with Scott Prouty, the man behind the viral video of Mitt Romney talking about "47 percent" of Americans.