The American cable news outlet is establishing its own distinct news division apart from NBC, along with a complete rebranding that includes the removal of NBC’s iconic peacock emblem from its logo.
In a significant shift, MSNBC is set to rebrand itself as My Source News Opinion World, abbreviated to MS NOW, marking a formal separation from NBC as part of a broader corporate restructuring.
Popular among progressive viewers and featuring familiar faces like Rachel Maddow, Ari Melber, and Nicolle Wallace, the network made this announcement on Monday. It has been diligently creating an independent news division distinct from NBC News, which will coincide with the removal of NBC’s peacock logo in its redesigned branding later this year.
This name change comes as NBC Universal, after spinning off various cable channels—including USA, CNBC, MSNBC, E! Entertainment, Oxygen, and the Golf Channel—into a new entity called Versant last November, opted for this rebranding. Notably, other channels under Versant will retain their existing names.
Originating in 1996 as a collaboration between Microsoft and NBC, the name MSNBC was always a subject of intrigue, but it endured even after the partnership concluded. Initially, Versant’s CEO, Mark Lazarus, indicated that the MSNBC name would be retained, making this announcement a surprising pivot.
Changing a network’s name can be fraught with challenges. MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler acknowledged in a staff memo that envisioning the network under a different banner was daunting. “This choice was not made lightly or without extensive discussion,” she stated.
“As NBC Universal undergoes this transformation, the need for a unique brand identity has become clear, allowing us to chart our own path and assert our independence while further developing our modern news-gathering capabilities,” she elaborated.
Kutler assured that while the name will change, the network’s core mission and values will remain unchanged. “Our identity and the work we do will persist,” she affirmed.
Interestingly, CNBC will keep “NBC” in its name, as it has historically maintained a more defined separation from NBC News. MSNBC contends that CNBC’s business-centric focus reduces overlap in content areas.
The tension between a news organization that claims objectivity and one that openly embraces a liberal stance has been a longstanding issue, with former US President Donald Trump often deriding MSNBC as “MSDNC” for its connections to the Democratic National Committee.
In an episode of Pivot, Maddow mentioned that MSNBC will now enjoy freedom from competing with NBC News for field reporting, allowing them to pursue stories on their own terms. “This new independence lets us follow our instincts and inquiries without having to sift through leftovers,” she stated. “It’s a move toward improvement.”
On Monday morning, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough unveiled the network’s new logo, describing it as “very sporty.”