Why MS NOW? What the MSNBC name change means for viewers

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

Starting Saturday, NBCUniversal’s cable news channel MSNBC will be called MS NOW, a makeover that may come as a shock to its loyal audience.It’s why every MSNBC host has been sending the same message in promotional spots, on their programs and in press interviews about the new moniker.They say: We’re not going anywhere and we’re not changing.“ ‘Morning Joe’ will still be ‘Morning Joe,’ ” said the program’s co-host Joe Scarborough in a recent Zoom conversation.

“Chris Hayes will still be Chris Hayes.Rachel Maddow will still be Rachel.

Lawrence O’Donnell will still be Lawrence.”“We’re just going to keep doing what we do,” added Scarborough’s wife and co-host, Mika Brzezinski.While no programming changes are planned, the rebranding will be a test in an age when brand awareness is difficult to achieve as the media marketplace is highly fractured.

MSNBC kept its name for 29 years even after its founding partner Microsoft gave up its stake in the network.MS NOW — an acronym for “My Source for News, Opinion and the World” — is the result of the politically progressive network being spun off into a company called Versant.Parent company Comcast announced the move last year as it no longer wants the slow, steady decline of the cable business holding back its stock price.

Versant, which also includes CNBC, USA Network, Oxygen, E! and Golf Channel, will be its own publicly traded company starting in January.The new ownership for MSNBC led to a separation from NBC News, which operated MSNBC since its launch in 1996.Although Versant leadership initially said the name would remain, NBCUniversal wanted to avoid having the network’s brand attached to a channel it no longer controlled.Versant executives will likely be nervous when they look at the Nielsen ratings the first few weeks after the name change.

But Julie Doughty, regional executive direc...