MSNBC Rebranding as MS NOW

Since NBCUniversal is choosing to spin off 7 of its live TV channels to a separate company named Versant, those channels will have to stand on their own without the support of NBC. The first step in the rebrand is for MSNBC to be changed to MS NOW.

The company suggests the letters stand for “My Source: News, Opinion, World.”

As part of the rebrand, the logo will drop the familiar peacock image. Expect that change across all the Versant channel logos, including CNBC.

CNBC broke the news of the MSNBC rebrand as reporters reviewed a memo from Versant Chief Executive Officer Mark Lazarus.

In the memo, MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler wrote that the name may change, but the focus of the channel will remain the same. “While our name will be changing, who we are and what we do will not. Our commitment to our work and our audiences will not waiver from what the brand promise has been for three decades,” Kutler wrote

The official name change will happen sometime later this year.

You may remember MNSBC inititally launched in 1996 as a partnership between Microsoft (MSN) and NBC. Microsoft dipped out of the deal in 2005.

Where Will You Be Able to Watch MS NOW?

MS NOW will be available on the same services as MSNBC: DIRECTV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.

There is a chance the channel’s parent company could make deals with other providers or create a standalone streaming option at some point in the future. Its competitor CNN is preparing a standalone streaming option of its own. And Fox News will be available on Fox One when it launches this week.