MSNBC Insiders Are Buzzing About Rebrand, Network’s Future

MSNBC is getting a new name and logo — and insiders say employee group chats are buzzing about what the rebrand means for the network’s future.

The left-leaning cable TV network will soon be known as MS NOW — My Source News Opinion World — the company told staffers in a memo on Monday morning. This rebrand comes as MSNBC prepares to spin off to a new company called Versant later this year, along with Comcast’s other cable channels (except Bravo).

Several of MSNBC’s biggest stars expressed support for the brand refresh.

Joe Scarborough said on air Tuesday that the new logo “looks very sporty” and that the rebrand away from NBC “shows we’re independent.”

Megastar Rachel Maddow said in a statement that “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.”

Seven current and two former MSNBC employees who spoke with Business Insider on Monday were less effusive, expressing a mixture of bemusement, uncertainty, and indifference.

The new logo features a white flag marked with two bold red horizontal lines beside the words MS NOW, set against a blue background. Several MSNBC insiders wondered if the focus on blue and red could signal a desire to appeal to both sides of the political aisle, though a longtime employee said they hadn’t heard any directives to move away from the network’s signature progressive style.

MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler told staffers in a memo that the network’s editorial direction wasn’t shifting: “While the name will be different, the brand’s commitment to its audience will not change.”

A second MSNBC employee remarked that the new logo “looks conservative, especially with losing the peacock rainbow.” MSNBC’s logo displayed the color red less prominently.

“Your eye is drawn to the red,” said Chris Rosica, the head of branding firm Rosica Communications.

What’s in a name?

Storied news organizations like MSNBC rarely rebrand, since network names convey heritage, trust, and brand identity, brand strategist Lily Thaler of Design Bridge and Partners said.

Versant president Mark Lazarus had said in January that MSNBC’s name wouldn’t change, telling employees to “take that off of your worry list on things,” Deadline reported.

The “MS” in its original name stood for Microsoft. Changing that to “My Source” is a bold call, said Stefanie Gilmore, the head of strategy for North America at Design Bridge and Partners. MS Now could build trust by pitching itself as “the news source for you,” she said.

One former employee said it was “hilarious” that MS is outlasting NBC in the name, since Microsoft exited the TV arm of the business in 2005.

A third current employee said the “Now” sounds like a streaming service. Comcast has a streamer called NBC News Now, and HBO Max used to be called HBO Now.

Two MSNBC insiders said viewers’ connection with the brand is staked less in its name, and more in its on-air personalities. People already sometimes shorten MSNBC to MS.

“The brand is around the anchors,” the contributor said. “I don’t think people will not look for Rachel Maddow or Nicolle Wallace.”

Hernan Lopez, founder of the media consulting firm Owl & Co., was complimentary of MSNBC’s rebrand, including the decision to distance itself from NBC following the spinoff.

“I think it will catch on, actually,” Lopez said of MSNBC’s new name. “Going from five syllables to three is a win.”