MSNBC is about to look a lot — and sound — a lot different. The cable news network will soon go by My Source News Opinion World (MS NOW) and drop its peacock logo, as reported earlier by Deadline.
The change comes as Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, plans to spin off its cable business, including networks like MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, and E!, into a new company called Versant. In a memo seen by The Verge, MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler told staffers that as part of the transition, NBCUniversal decided that MSNBC needed “a new, separate identity.”
MSNBC originally launched in 1996 as a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC News, though the tech giant sold its majority stake in the network in 2005 and ended its web partnership in 2012. The network has used the peacock logo associated with NBC for nearly three decades. Additionally, CNBC will keep its name but drop the peacock logo as well.
Kutler added that the rebrand won’t affect MSNBC’s coverage. “The future of our success is not tied to remaining within the NBC family and using the peacock as part of our identity,” Kutler wrote. “While our name will be changing, who we are and what we do will not.”
Here’s Kutler’s memo in full:
All,
Following up on what you may have already seen from Mark, later this year, we will take on a new name: MS NOW, which stands for My Source for News, Opinion,and the World.
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.
I know this announcement will be met with questions, and 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. This was not a decision that was made quickly or without significant debate.
Over the last eight months, we have worked to untether ourselves from NBC News and embrace our independence under VERSANT. We’ve hired dozens of first-rate reporters and newsroom leaders and have been recruiting for nearly 100 roles across our new and nimble organization. We continue to supercharge our non-linear products, achieving rapid success on YouTube, TikTok, audio, digital, live events, and more – all while aggressively developing a direct-to-consumer product.
During this time of transition, NBCUniversal decided that our brand requires a new, separate identity. This decision now allows us to set our own course and assert our independence as we continue to build our own modern newsgathering operation.
The future of our success is not tied to remaining within the NBC family and using the peacock as part of our identity. While our name will be changing, who we are and what we do will not. Our commitment to our work and our audiences will not waiver from what the brand promise has been for three decades.
In conjunction with the brand relaunch, we will be making a significant investment in a broad-based marketing campaign, unlike anything we have done in recent memory. Planning is now underway for an employee all-hands meeting next week, where I will have more to share – more news on that soon.
Until then, we have millions of people who rely on us to continue doing what we do best. As I said on my first day, our most important job is to show up for our audience, the community that is depending on us now more than ever.
Rebecca
Disclosure: Comcast is an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company.
