The cable network’s new name stands for ‘My Source News Opinion World,’ the company said in a note to employees seen by The Wall Street Journal.
MSNBC is reportedly changing its name to MS NOW and losing its signature peacock logo ahead of its spinoff from Comcast’s (CMCSA) NBCUniversal.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the cable network’s new name stands for ‘My Source News Opinion World,’ the company said in a note to employees. The report added that the move is an effort for the channel to move away from NBC and establish its own identity.
Comcast’s stock traded flat after the opening bell on Monday. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the company remained in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day, down from ‘bullish’ a week ago.
The changes come as NBCUniversal prepares to spin off most of its cable networks later this year, including CNBC, USA, Oxygen, and E!. The report said that not only MSNBC, but any of the channels that currently use the peacock logo will shed that imagery. It added that CNBC is expected to keep its name, originally an acronym for Consumer News and Business Channel, but is working on a new logo.
The rebranding will be rolled out later this year, ahead of the completion of the $7 billion spinoff approved by Comcast in November last year, the report said. NBC, Bravo, and the Peacock streaming service will remain with NBCUniversal, while the new entity will be called Versant. The separation is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
“The peacock is synonymous with NBCUniversal, and it is a symbol they have decided to keep within the NBCU family,” Mark Lazarus, who will serve as Versant chief executive, said in the internal memo, cited by NBCNews. “This gives us the opportunity to charge our own path forward, create distinct brand identities, and establish an independent news organization following the spin.”
MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler, who took over from Rashida Jones in January, said the network will not change editorial direction as it builds out its newsgathering operation entirely separate from NBC News. Meanwhile, Lazarus told the Journal that the network will continue to serve a “progressive audience” and focus on “holding the political figures from both parties to account.”
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