MSNBC Switches Name to MS NOW on November 15
What’s in a name? On November 15, MSNBC will quickly find out.
The cable-news outlet, slated to be spun out of NBCUniversal in the next few months and become part of a new publicly traded company called Versant, will change its name to MS NOW in mid-November. The maneuver comes because NBCUniversal felt a news operation that was about to become a rival should not carry the “NBC” markings. MSNBC has for years shared newsgathering resources with NBC News, but will no longer do so.
The name change comes “after months of meticulous planning and thoughtful collaboration across every corner of our organization” said Rebecca Kutler, president of the network, in a memo to staff. “We are facing it head-on, and our success in the months and years ahead will depend on our innovation and entrepreneurial approach.”
To make sure viewers understand, the network is launching a marketing campaign that tells its audience the overall news brand and channel will not change. “Same Mission. New Name,” will serve as a slogan of sorts for the switch, more pragmatic, perhaps, than others used by MSNBC over the years, including “This Is Who We Are,” “Lean Forward” or”The Place for Politics.” In one promo released for preview, Rachel Maddow tells viewers the network may be changing its title, but not what it does for its audience.
To be sure, MS NOW may seem a little different than MSNBC. The network has built up its own newsgathering staff, recruiting reporters and producers from places such as The Washington Post, NBC News, Politico and Bloomberg, among others. Viewers in recent weeks may have noticed a heavier focus on snaring newsmakers for interviews early on in a story’s news cycle. MSNBC has also been working to cultivate Republican guests, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and U.S. Senator John Thune, the Majority Leader.
In addition to staffing its own Washington Bureau, MSNBC struck a pact with Sky News that will make the latter organization’s coverage of international affairs available to MSNBC’s audiences in the United States.
Changing names of long-running media institutions can be risky. Warner Bros. Discovery recently found that dubbing a streaming service long associated with HBO with the name “Max” left it at a disadvantage when it came to brand recognition, particularly because many of Max’s most popular offerings are HBO programs. Paramount over the years changed the name and mission of the cable outlet now known as Paramount Network — it was known in different iterations as The Nashville Network, The National Network and Spike TV — and each overhaul undermined its brand in the overall media marketplace.
Executives hope viewers will adopt the new MS NOW nomenclature and remember the letters stand for “My Source for News, Opinion and the World.”
