Rachel Maddow Stars in MS NOW Ad: What to Know About MSNBC’s Rebrand
MSNBC is forging a new path on the small screen.
The network will officially relaunch as My Source News Opinion World, MS NOW for short, on November 15 as a part of their separation from Comcast. MSNBC is one of several channels that will live under the new company Versant, headed by Mark Lazarus, including CNBC, USA Network, E!, Oxygen, SYFY, Golf Channel, SportsEngine, and GolfNow.
Ahead of the rebrand, MSNBC released ads featuring MS Now personalities such as Rachel Maddow, promoting the brand’s new motto of “We the People.”
News of the name change comes several months after Lazarus announced that MSNBC’s name would remain the same amid the separation. “I know there was some discussion with the MSNBC name, so you can take that off of your worry list on things,” he told staffers during a January meeting, per Deadline.
“The only thing I’ll say is the worst thing any leader can do is change something that’s working just because they can,” Lazarus added. “So, if this is working, then there’s no reason to change it.”
What does MSNBC’s name change mean for the future of the network? Here’s what we know ahead of its launch.
Why is MSNBC changing its name?
The network will rebrand as MS NOW as a result of its move from Comcast to Versant. As a result, MS NOW and other channels involved in the move will lose their NBC peacock logo, as Comcast owns NBCUniversal.
“The peacock is synonymous with NBCUniversal, and it is a symbol they have decided to keep within the NBCU family,” Lazarus said in a staff memo on August 18, per NBC News. “This gives us the opportunity to charge our own path forward, create distinct brand identities, and establish an independent news organization following the spin.”
According to NBC News, CNBC will keep its name, which stands for Consumer News and Business Channel, but will also receive a new logo. Comcast will reportedly retain other NBCUniversal networks, including NBC, NBC News, NBC Sports, Bravo, and the streaming service Peacock.
Versant
When will MSNBC’s change take place?
NBC News personalities began to withdraw from MSNBC appearances in October. According to AdWeek, the two networks continued to share Washington, D.C.-based converge until October 19. MSNBC will officially become MS Now on November 15.
What shows will remain on MSNBC?
MS NOW is set to keep the same shows as MSNBC, as no major programming changes have been announced. In an August 18 memo to staffers, MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler stated that the network will not change its news coverage amid the separation.
“While our name will be changing, who we are and what we do will not,” Kutler said, per NBC News. “Our commitment to our work and our audiences will not waiver from what the brand promise has been for three decades.”
Which hosts will depart NBC News for MS Now?
On October 16, AdWeek reported that NBC News’ Maya Eaglin will join MS Now as an on-air reporter. In addition to cohosting the social media news show Stay Tuned, Eaglin has also appeared on NBC News programs such as Today, NBC Nightly News, and NBC News Now.
Other confirmed MS Now personalities include former Spectrum News NY1 correspondent Kevin Frey, who will act as the network’s Congress reporter, and NBC News’ Fallon Gallagher, who will serve as a legal affairs reporter/producer. Former CBS News Boston reporter Laura Haefeli and People staff writer Jillian Frankel will also serve as reporters/producers for MS Now.
Ken Dilanian, Ryan Reilly, Vaughn Hillyard, Antonia Hylton, Jacob Soboroff, David Noriega, Marc Santia, Laura Barrón-López, and Brandy Zadrozny are also among the NBC News reporters who will move over to MS Now.
Are there ads for MSNBC’s rebrand?
One week before the network change, MSNBC launched ads — produced by the creative agency Sibling Rivalry — promoting the MS Now relaunch, one of which features Maddow reciting the preamble of the U.S. Constitution. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America,” she says over clips of herself and other MS Now personalities.
A second ad features more shots of the MSNBC hosts and clips of every day Americans. Playing over the footage is audio from Maya Angelou’s 1996 United Nations reading of her poem “The Human Family.”
“I’ve seen the wonders of the world, not yet one common man,” Angelou states. “I note the obvious differences between each sort and type, but we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”
What have MSNBC personalities said about the rebrand?
“If there was ever a time for us to change our name, this is it — because we’re not just separating from NBC News in corporate terms, we’re competing with them now. So I think the distinction is going to be good for us,” Maddow told Variety in a statement on August 18. “What NBC [is] doing in its legacy timeslots — the Today show, [NBC] Nightly [News], Meet the Press — is just a world away from the 24/7 totally independent news operation that we’re able to stand up now, thanks to the spin-off.”
Maddow added, “While I will admit to having no idea how to pronounce ‘MS NOW’ (and I’m still not all that sure about pronouncing ‘Versant,’ either), we’re at least dropping our syllable count from five to three! An efficiency gain!”
Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, meanwhile, slammed the network’s name change via X. “MSNBC to change name to MS NOW no I’m not kidding,” he wrote on August 18, adding in a follow up post, “They can change it to LES MS for all it matters they still screwed up what I built for them 🤦🏼♂️.”
What have fans said about the rebrand?
Viewers expressed their mixed feelings over the name change via social media, with one X user writing, “Interesting move by MSNBC. ‘My Source (for) News, Opinions (and the) World’ feels like a mouthful. Hope the content’s as fresh as the name! 📺.” Another person added, “If I saw MS NOW, I would think it was a charity that wants a cure, effective treatment or solutions to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) – which I would honestly love to see, but isn’t a news org.”
“That’s not a catchy network name at all,” a different user shared via X, while someone else wrote, “MS NOW’s new meaning sounds intriguing, but will it shift their narrative? Fingers crossed for balanced ‘Opinions (and the) World’! 📰 #Rebrand.”
Conversation16 Comments
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G
They had an incredible opportunity to rebrand and establish themselves as their own network and alternative to competitors like CNN and Fox News Channel -- and what do they do with that opportunity??? Bungle it completely!
They had the opportunity to get rid of the horrible MS at the start of their name and instead they doubled down on it. I'm sorry but the MS will always make me think of Multiple Sclerosis, a terrible disease. Why would anyone want a name that makes people think of that every time they use the name?
The head honchos at CNN and FNC have to be smiling.
And if Keith O is proud to say he "built" MSNBC, then he has more issues than I thought he did ....
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P
its like renaming the titanic its gona sink anyway
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R
I watch shows. I don't watch brands.I don't really know, or care, where a particular show airs so long as I can find it.
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O
I am outraged! I don't even care if they just call themselves M or The Maddow Network, but i am so wrapped up in comcash i can't leave it to go to - who are they now - "Versant?!" And i sure can't sit at my desktop all day/night long watching on my PC either! I hardly watch anything else these days & to now have a venue that is going to be so hard to use, if i can even figure out how to access it at all? I just don't know? I thought drump would be forcing MSNBC off the Air, before THEY would be the ones to take it away. Even if i can find it live occasionally? how would i record the many Shows i only see because i can record them? Suffice, i am livid!
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C
I really can't comprehend what you're trying to say.
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G
What's not stated is why Comcast is getting rid of their cable channels in the first place.
MSNBC is dropping the "NBC" part of the name ... yet Microsoft sold its interest YEARS ago - why keep the MS?
CNBC was their first cable channel, so CNBC probably started (internally only) to mean "cable NBC," and the "Consumer News and Business Channel" was retrofit later, unless you think the full name came first and it's just a happy coincidence the abbreviation included the letters NBC.
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G
Boy, Just like MSNBC you just said a whole lot of nothing.
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O
What do you mean that "comcast is getting rid of their cable channels..." they charge too dam much for that, so they better NOT!!
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G
I think it's great..reminds me of MS magazine..thank you Gloria Steinem...or it could mean Mother Superior..come on people have a little fun with it..now just put it on YouTube for free viewing...
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M
Buh Bye!
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J
Not sure why people that have failed in their life, think they can offer advice! Sit this one out please!
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G
I think they're doing this so that when the Trump administration comes after MSNBC for disagreeing with him or not falsely portraying him in the best light, Comcast will not be affected.
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C
Sounds like a telethon for a disease. Is that the best they could do?
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G
I Hope they go belly up
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C
MS = Mentally Screwed ? Maddow Sux ? Moron Series ? More Sheit ? Must Sell ? Probably that last one. 🤣
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O
I think they are a bunch of "Radical Liberal Blue Belly Yankees" going DOWN!!!
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