The decision to spin off MSNBC as part of a new company will result in the loss of NBC News as a partner, possibly a new network name and possibly even new ownership and a different direction.
Variety reported:
The cable news network may need to consider changing its name and well-known brands as part of a spinoff of the bulk of parent company Comcast's cable assets, one of the emerging company's new top executives suggested to a group of MSNBC employees, according to two people familiar with the meeting Wednesday morning.
Lazarus told an audience that included Rachel Maddow, Chris Jansing and Katy Tur that he wasn't sure whether MSNBC would have to change its identity as part of the deal, which would see the cable network and its business news sister channel CNBC split off from NBC News would NBCUniversal. Attendees wanted to know whether the two networks, no longer part of the NBC corporate entity, can continue to carry brands that are part of their former home.
MSNBC used NBC's newsgathering feature, meaning many of the reporters viewers saw on MSNBC actually worked for NBC News. Without these reporters or a news aggregator, MSNBC would be nothing more than televised talk radio consisting of approximately 18 hours of talking heads talking to one another.
The reality is that MSNBC and the other networks Comcast is spinning off are ripe for sale. It's easy to imagine a right-wing billionaire or a company like Sinclair buying MSNBC, rebranding it and turning it into a competitor to Fox News.
MSNBC could use a rebrand as both Microsoft and MSNBC will not be involved in the operation going forward.
What this means for viewers is that MSNBC may soon be gone and what will take its place is currently a question mark.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also White House press secretary and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor's degree in political science. The focus of his thesis was public policy with an emphasis on social reform movements.
Awards and professional memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association
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