Nearly 30 years after its founding, MSNBC is set to adopt a new moniker, MS NOW, short for My Source News Opinion World, as part of its previously announced spinoff from NBCUniversal.
The cable news channel, known for “The Rachel Maddow Show” and Nicolle Wallace’s “Deadline: White House,” among other programs, has held its current name since launching in 1996 as part of a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC News.
In an internal memo to staff, MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said the upcoming name change “was not a decision that was made quickly or without significant debate.”
“During this time of transition, NBC Universal decided that our brand requires a new, separate identity,” Kutler said.
“This decision now allows us to set our own course and assert our independence as we continue to build our own modern newsgathering organization.”
In November 2024, Comcast Corp., NBCUniversal’s parent company, unveiled plans to spin off MSNBC and its subsidiary’s portfolio of other cable networks into a separate publicly traded company called Versant, formerly known as SpinCo.
During MSNBC’s rebrand, which is expected to take place later this year, the cable news outlet will also revamp its logo, dropping the trademark peacock symbol long associated with NBC.
NBC, Bravo, and NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, will remain under the NBCUniversal umbrella, which will now prioritize broadcast and streaming assets.
“This transaction positions both SpinCo and NBCUniversal to play offense in a changing media landscape,” added Comcast’s president, Mike Cavanagh.
“Taken together, the entirety of NBCUniversal will be on a new growth trajectory, fueled by our world-class content, technology, IP, properties and talent—all working in concert with each other as an integrated media company.”