MSNBC is entering a new era ahead of its 30th anniversary.
Later this year, the channel, which originally launched in 1996 as a partnership between Microsoft and NBC, will officially be rebranded into MS NOW, which stands for My Source for News, Opinion, and the World.
The change comes amid the news channel's split from NBC News, as its corporate parent Comcast spins off most of its cable channels into a new company called Versant. Here's what we know.
© Courtesy of VersantThe announcement
Per the New York Times, MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler first said in an internal memo: "I want to acknowledge that for many of you who have spent years or decades here, it is hard to imagine the network by any other name," adding: "This was not a decision that was made quickly or without significant debate."
Still, she maintained: "This new branding underscores our mission: to serve as a destination for breaking news and best-in-class opinion journalism, all rooted in accurate and reported facts."
© GettyWhat it means
In a memo to employees, Versant chief executive Mark Lazarus said that the name change and departure from NBC "gives us the opportunity to chart our own path forward, create distinct brand identities and establish an independent news organization following the spin."
As a result of the spinoff, which is set to take effect later this year, MSNBC will change its name, stop using the NBC brand, and drop its signature peacock logo.
CNBC, also part of the spinoff, will retain its initials, which stand for Consumer News and Business Channel, but it will also have a new logo without the peacock.
© GettyAdam Miller, the chief operating officer at NBCUniversal, also said in a memo to employees Monday that the change would help avoid confusion between viewers of NBC News and MSNBC, as the two channels covered the same news events, the Times further reported.
The network's president maintained that the rebrand would not change the network's core identity or editorial focus, and that they would embark on a major marketing campaign to promote the change.
"While our name will be changing, who we are and what we do will not," she emphasized. "Our commitment to our work and our audiences will not waiver from what the brand promise has been for three decades."
© GettyViewer reaction
Reactions from netizens across social media have been tough. Many have simply stated "multiple sclerosis" in response to the "MS" portion of the name, which initially stood for Microsoft. "How is no one talking about how the logo is even more horrendous than the new name," one wrote on X, which is still referred to as Twitter after its own controversial name change. "Okay that's an awful new brand identity… it's giving cheap basic cable 'America first' vibes," another wrote on Instagram, as another suggested: "HBO already showed us how this ends. Bring back the peacock," referring to yet another disliked name change.
