MSNBC is entering its final days under the network’s current name.
MSNBC and NBC News staffers were informed on Wednesday, September 17, that domestic and international NBC News personalities will no longer appear on MSNBC beginning on October 6, per Variety. Washington, D.C.-based correspondents will continue appearances through October 20, after which the split between the two networks will fully go into effect.
The news comes as MSNBC prepares to split from NBC News and rebrand under the new network name My Source News Opinion World, MS NOW for short. MSNBC is one of several Comcast-owned networks that will spin off into a new company, Versant, including Golf Channel, CNBC, E!, Syfy, USA Network, and Oxygen, among others.
As of October 20, MSNBC and CNBC employees will no longer be included in NBC editorial meetings and calls, per Variety. Versant, however, will keep access to NBC News’ Decision Desk through the end of this year. MSNBC will begin broadcasting its programming at a temporary facility in New York City starting in November.
According to the outlet, Versant and the Comcast-owned NBCUniversal are expected to be legally separated by January 1, 2026.
Versant
The networks moving over to Versant will lose NBCU’s famous Peacock logo from their branding. MSNBC isn’t the only channel getting a new name, as USA Network and Golf Channel will merge into USA Sports. CNBC, meanwhile, will keep its name but receive a new logo.
MSNBC has hired several NBC News personalities amid the split, the trade reports, including Brandy Zadrozny, David Noriega, Ken Dilanian, and Vaughan Hillyard. Versant has also brought on senior NBCU executives Brian Carovillano, Meghan Rafferty, Tom Clendenin, and Jessica Kurdali.
Sources “familiar with newsroom conversations” told Variety that there is speculation of a “recalibration of resources” as a result of MSNBC and CNBC’s departure from NBCU.
MSNBC mainstay Rachel Maddow previously expressed her excitement over the network’s 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,” she told Variety in an August statement. “So I think the distinction is going to be good for us.”
The Rachel Maddow Show host continued, “What NBC [is] doing in its legacy timeslots — the Today show, 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 spinoff.”