Starting Saturday, NBCUniversal\u2019s cable news channel MSNBC will be called MS NOW, a makeover that may come as a shock to its loyal audience.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s why every MSNBC host has been sending the same message in promotional spots, on their programs and in press interviews about the new moniker. They say: We\u2019re not going anywhere and we\u2019re not changing.<\/p>\n
\u201c \u2018Morning Joe\u2019 will still be \u2018Morning Joe,\u2019 \u201d said the program\u2019s co-host Joe Scarborough in a recent Zoom conversation. \u201cChris Hayes will still be Chris Hayes. Rachel Maddow will still be Rachel. Lawrence O\u2019Donnell will still be Lawrence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just going to keep doing what we do,\u201d added Scarborough\u2019s wife and co-host, Mika Brzezinski. <\/p>\n
While no programming changes are planned, the rebranding will be a test in an age when brand awareness is difficult to achieve as the media marketplace is highly fractured. MSNBC kept its name for 29 years even after its founding partner Microsoft gave up its stake in the network.<\/p>\n
Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough on \u201cMorning Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n
(MSNBC)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
MS NOW \u2014 an acronym for \u201cMy Source for News, Opinion and the World\u201d \u2014 is the result of the politically progressive network being spun off <\/a>into a company called Versant. Parent company Comcast announced the move last year as it no longer wants the slow, steady decline of the cable business holding back its stock price. Versant, which also includes CNBC, USA Network, Oxygen, E! and Golf Channel, will be its own publicly traded company starting in January.<\/p>\n The new ownership for MSNBC led to a separation from NBC News, which operated MSNBC since its launch in 1996. Although Versant leadership initially said the name would remain, NBCUniversal wanted to avoid having the network\u2019s brand attached to a channel it no longer controlled.<\/p>\n Versant executives will likely be nervous when they look at the Nielsen ratings the first few weeks after the name change. But Julie Doughty, regional executive director of naming and verbal identity for the global brand consulting firm Landor, believes the shift is minor enough for consumers to get used to quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure they were concerned about disrupting the brand awareness they\u2019ve built and losing the legitimacy and gravitas of the NBC name,\u201d Doughty said. \u201cThis new name closely tracks the original. It has the same number of letters. MS is still in the front, which is a nice bit of continuity for those customers who already just shorten the name to MS.\u201d<\/p>\n Doughty added, \u201cThe real test will come in the content. Will it continue to have high standards and deserve their trust as a mainstream new source?\u201d<\/p>\n The network appeared to pass its first big test as a freestanding news organization with coverage of the Nov. 4 off-year election that saw a strong showing for the Democrats and the passage of the congressional redistricting proposition in California.<\/p>\n Nielsen data showed MSNBC finished well ahead of celebrity.land on the night and just slightly behind perennial cable news ratings leader Fox News.<\/p>\n MSNBC becomes MS NOW on Nov. 15.<\/p>\n (MSNBC)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n MS NOW executives say they remain committed to covering breaking news, staffing the channel\u2019s own Washington bureau and entering news-gathering agreements with Sky for international coverage and AccuWeather. A number of NBC News journalists, including White House correspondent Vaughn Hillyard, justice and intelligence correspondent Ken Dilanian and national correspondent Jacob Soboroff<\/a>, moved to MS NOW with the belief there will be more opportunities for expansive reporting.<\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t say their names, but some of the best reporters at NBC are far more disappointed with this than we are,\u201d Scarborough said. \u201cTheir window just went from having 30 minutes on \u2018Morning Joe,\u2019 where influencers are, to 35 seconds on a morning show or maybe a sound bite on \u2018NBC Nightly News.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The network is leaning heavily into promoting its lineup of personalities who in the current era of divided politics serve as tribal leaders for the audience. <\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that so impressed me three years ago when I joined MS was the depth of the relationship with the fans,\u201d MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said at a recent press breakfast at the network\u2019s new headquarters in Midtown Manhattan once occupied by the New York Times. \u201cEight hours a week \u2014 that is a ton of time and that is how much people watch us.\u201d<\/p>\n The only signature MSNBC talent who chose to go with NBC News is political analyst Steve Kornacki. <\/a>Willie Geist will remain host of NBC\u2019s \u201cSunday Today\u201d in addition to his duties on \u201cMorning Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n MSNBC on-air personalities believe the lack of a large corporate owner will be freeing at a time when journalism organizations and their parent companies are fearing the wrath of President Trump and his threats of business-related retribution over coverage he doesn\u2019t like.<\/p>\n Last month at an MSNBC fan event in Manhattan, Maddow stirred up the crowd by touting the network\u2019s editorial independence. She called the network a \u201cnontoxic workplace\u201d that is \u201cat no risk of right-wing bloggers who are some billionaire\u2019s friend.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Three](\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/3ef7697\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1600x1066+0+0\/resize\/320x213!\/format\/webp\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F57%2Ff5%2Ffecb0ee1405a8656fa81ea313370%2Fmsnow.jpg)
<\/picture>\n