MSNBC no more: Cable news network gets a new name

The divorce with NBC is just about complete now, with MSNBC coming away with a new name.

The network announced on Monday that it will be changing its name to MS NOW, which stands for My Source for News, Opinion, and the World.

As part of the rebrand, there will be a significant national marketing campaign to accompany the launch of the new name, “unlike anything we have done in recent memory,” MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler stated in a staffwide memo on Monday morning.

While it had been reported earlier this year that the cable news channel would be able to retain its name following the spinoff from NBC Universal, Kutler pointed out in Monday’s memo that “during this time of transition, it has become clear that our brands need separation, and NBCUniversal decided to retain ‘NBC’ and the peacock.”

Therefore, according to Kutler, the decision to change the name of the network “allows us to set our own course and assert our independence as we continue to build our newsgathering operation” and that the “future of our success is not tied to keeping ‘NBC’ as part of our identity.”

The new name and logo, of course, is part of a larger restructuring plan by parent company Comcast to split off a large portion of its cable assets – which includes MSNBC, CNBC and other networks – from NBCUniversal, which will keep the NBC broadcast network and other media properties.

The majority of Comcast’s cable channels have been spun off into a new company called Versant, and the split with NBCUniversal will take place later this year. Therefore, as Versant CEO Mark Lazarus announced on Monday, any Versant properties that have been associated directly with NBC and the famed “peacock” logo will be getting a makeover.

“This means we will redesign our logos where the peacock has been incorporated into our brands,” Lazarus noted in a Monday memo.

While the Golf Channel, GolfNow and CNBC will also be impacted due to the use of NBC’s logo, CNBC will continue to use the same acronym as the name originally stood for the Consumer News and Business Channel. As noted by Versant, the business channel has several long-term licensing agreements with partners around the world and were contractually obligated to keep the name.

“Sports programming on USA Network and Golf Channel will come together under a new brand moniker of USA Sports,” Lazarus added. “New logos for USA Sports and Golf Channel are well underway. These new logos will aim to honor USA Network’s legacy in sports and entertainment as well as Golf Channel’s 30-plus year history as TV’s home for golf, all with a nod to the future. We look forward to unveiling those in the weeks to come.”

Meanwhile, in her letter to staff, Kutler affirmed that the editorial direction of the left-leaning cable news channel – which first launched in 1996 – would not be changing and would continue to stay true to MSNBC’s core values. “While our name will be changing, who we are and what we do will not,” she wrote. “Our commitment to our work and our audiences will not waiver from what the brand promise has been for three decades.”

In recent months, with MSNBC preparing for its eventual split from NBC News, the network has gone on a hiring spree to fill out its own newsroom as it will no longer be associated with its current broadcast partner.

While this has included a number of NBC News correspondents and reporters deciding to switch over exclusively to MSNBC, such as Jacob Soboroff, Antonia Hylton and Brandy Zadrozny, the network has also lured over dozens of other high-profile journalists from The Washington Post, CNN, Politico and other outlets.

Besides filling out its newsroom, the network has also expanded its executive and senior editorial ranks ahead of the spinoff, recently bringing aboard former NBC Nightly News executive producer Meghan Rafferty as Vice President of News Standards and Wall Street Journal alum Sudeep Reddy to lead its Washington bureau.

“We have already filled many key new roles here at MSNBC as we prepare for the upcoming transition. Additionally, we have recently posted dozens of open positions under VERSANT and are actively recruiting for nearly 50 essential roles spanning newsgathering, digital, audio, and specials,” Kutler told staff in a separate memo last week.