MSNBC host Joe Scarborough says he’s ‘excited’ over the changes.
MSNBC morning talkshow hosts Joe Scarborough (L) and Mika Brzezinski (R) seen arriving to a December 2022 State Dinner at the White House in Washington, D.C. On Monday, Scarborough took note of MSNBC’s change to MS NOW. He called Versant “entrepreneurial” and said he was “excited” about the new changes. Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI | License Photo
MSNBC will soon be known as “My Source News Opinion World” as it exits Comcast’s family into the newly created media company Versant.
The company-wide reorganization and rebranding effort to MS NOW arrived as media giant Comcast first announced its plan in November to spin off some of its most well-known cable-oriented outlets from NBCUniversal.
MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said Monday that NBCU execs decided the MSNBC’s brand required a “new, separate identity.”
“This decision now allows us to set our own course and assert our independence as we continue to build our own modern news-gathering operation,” Kutler wrote in a memo to network employees.
MSNBC’s partnership with NBC News will end but creates competition as it builds out its own news division in Versant’s new operation led by its founding CEO Mark Lazarus.
Initially, the plan was for MSNBC to retain its name but plans changed when NBCU opted to keep its branded peacock logo.
“This gives us the opportunity to chart our own path forward, create distinct brand identities and establish an independent news organization following the spin,” Lazarus told Variety.
Comcast officials previously said the move will allow NBCUniversal programming to consolidate behind its Peacock streaming service.
On Monday, Kutler said the future of the network’s success was “not tied to remaining within the NBC family and using the peacock as part of our identity.” She added the re-branding was rather tied to a “broad-based marketing campaign,” which she claimed was “unlike anything we have done in recent memory.”
“While our name will be changing, who we are and what we do will not,” she said.
The Golf Channel and USA Network are to be under a new “USA Sports” brand as part of Versant’s new changes.
“Our commitment to our work and our audiences will not waiver from what the brand promise has been for three decades,” Kutler added.
MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough took note of the changes on Monday during his daily morning talkshow.
He called Versant “entrepreneurial” and said he was “excited” about the new changes in a video clip posted to Bluesky.
