MSNBC to Change Name as Comcast Prepares for Versant Spin-Off

The MSNBC cable network is set to change their name to MS NOW by the end of the year as the company prepares for their separation from Comcast.

To understand the change, one must go back to the current company hierarchy of Comcast. Comcast is the largest cable network in the United States and owns various cable channels and major companies, many of which were previously owned by NBCUniversal. In 2011, Comcast bought a significant stake in NBCUniversal, making the latter a subsidiary.

However, in an attempt to streamline operations and focus on their core businesses, this year, Comcast decided to spin-off some of its cable networks into another independent company, which will be known as Versant. While stockholders of Comcast will lose the value that those particular cable networks provide to the stock, they will also receive shares of the new company, allowing them to potentially gain additional capital in the future if Versant is successful.

This new company will contain most of Comcast's currently-owned cable networks, including USA Today, CNBC, and MSNBC. However, MSNBC, which stands for Microsoft and National Broadcasting Company, was originally a joint venture between Microsoft's MSN news network and NBC. Microsoft later relinquished their ownership of the company, but the name stuck.

Due to this, Versant has decided to rename the network to MS NOW, removing the NBC part of the network– the new name will stand for My Source for News, Opinion, and the World. The name change is also meant to make the public more aware of Versant as a company, as they are already trying to make a larger imprint and distinguish themselves from Comcast. Furthermore, the classic Peacock logo will be removed from MSNBC – at the discretion of NBC – with the new logo set to be released later this year once Versant becomes a publicly-traded company.

MSNBC was chosen for this change because their coverage has a significant overlap with that of NBC, but CNBC will not undergo the same change. Versant felt that the coverage of CNBC is already different enough from NBC, and CNBC technically stands for Consumer News Business Channel– National Broadcasting Company was never actually in the name.

The network is also undergoing various changes beneath the surface, with the new administration working to hire over 100 new journalists to allow them to compete with the newsroom of NBC News.

An update: Air Canada Fails to Resume Operations After Strike Continues

Air Canada is still unable to resume operations due to the ongoing strike of over 10,000 flight attendants, forcing them to cancel hundreds of flights per day. Union leaders of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) are facing fines and possible jail time after ordering their members to defy a federal back-to-work order for the second time– a situation that has never occurred before in Canadian history. Almost all Air Canada flights remain canceled, and the airline has already entered talks with the union as they scramble to try and convince the organization to bring their flight attendants back to work. Read the initial story here.

Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): For nearly 60 years, Texas didn’t have an official state flag between 1879 & 1933. During that time, the Lone Star flag was active, but the unofficial flag.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it. (Eckhart Tolle)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Ostentatious (adj, ah-stun-TAY-shus) - Ostentatious describes someone or something that displays wealth, knowledge, power, etc., in a way that is meant to attract attention, admiration, or envy. Things that are ostentatious tend to stand out as overly elaborate or conspicuous.

In a Sentence: The resort town is famous for its extravagantly expensive summer homes, which some tourists view as impressive and others as merely ostentatious.

Image credit to Los Angeles Times