The news: MSNBC is rebranding as MS NOW (My Source for News, Opinion and the World) as it spins off from NBCUniversal into Versant. The new name signals a break from its Microsoft roots and a push to establish an independent brand identity, while keeping its editorial positioning intact. NBCU described it as a chance to “chart our own path forward” with distinct logos and positioning apart from NBC News.
Zooming out: The timing comes as the TV news audience continues to erode worldwide.
In the US, just 50% of adults now say they used TV for news in the past week, down sharply from 72% in 2013. The shift is even more dramatic in markets like the UK (79% to 48%) and France (84% to 59%). Younger Americans in particular lean heavily on social networks: 54% of adults ages 18–24 cite social/video as their main news source, compared to only 19% for TV.
Even with this shift, TV news remains influential, particularly among older viewers. 38% of US adults 55+ still name TV as their main source, compared with just 18% who rely on social media. This demographic reality explains why Fox News leads all individual outlets at 14% of US adults citing it as their top news source—well ahead of MSNBC, which sits at just 3%.
That gap underscores why MS NOW’s business goal is bigger than a new logo. The network is trying to expand beyond its hard-left niche and replicate the scale of Fox News, which dominates in part because it blends news with strong identity-driven opinion. MS NOW’s challenge is to hold onto its base while also becoming a destination for broader news consumption in a fragmented landscape where Facebook (11%), TikTok (8%), and CNN (8%) are already competing for attention.
The bottom line: As linear TV declines and digital reshapes the news economy, MS NOW sees its rebrand not just as cosmetic but as a play for relevance—and a shot at scaling into something more than a niche outlet.