Headline Roundup • August 19th, 2025
MSNBC to Split From Comcast, Change Name to MS NOW
Summary from the AllSides News Team
MSNBC (Left bias) announced it is changing its name to My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW, as part of its split from Comcast and NBCUniversal.
The Details: MSNBC said it has been growing in the past few months and that the split “gives us the freedom to chart our own path forward, and we’re excited about where it’s headed.” The network will be spun out under a new media company called Versant, alongside other NBC networks such as CNBC (Lean Left) and Golf Channel.
Fear of Trump: Andrew Prokop of Vox (Left) described the name MS NOW as “silly” and wrote, “Underneath this seemingly silly story, though, are currents of major change – and fear – in the mainstream media.” Prokop cited Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump as a potential inciter of fear and said MSNBC “will no longer have to worry about being punished by the federal government.”
Bad Name Change: The New York Post (Lean Right) called MSNBC’s name change “the worst rebrand since New Coke” and highlighted critics of the change. An anonymously cited “company insider” said, “It doesn’t set a great precedent for management to change the name after promising staffers it wouldn’t.” An anonymous “former media executive” said, “I don’t know what’s worse, Versant or My Source News Opinion World. Whoever came up with these names deserves to be shown the door.” The Post also noted that securing “the MS NOW domain name may also prove tricky,” as a few logical choices are currently taken by other companies.
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Featured Coverage of this Story
Versant
Goodbye MSBNC, and hello “MS NOW.”
In an announcement that has triggered widespread befuddlement and mockery, the progressive cable news network is getting rebranded.
The new name isn’t meant to call to mind Microsoft or the honorific “Ms.” Instead, in the style of congressional bill-naming, MS NOW is purportedly an acronym for the following mouthful: “My Source for News, Opinion, and the World.”
Underneath this seemingly silly story, though, are currents of major change — and fear — in the mainstream media.
Cable news channel MSNBC will rebrand as My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW, according to internal memos seen by Reuters on Monday, as parent Comcast presses ahead with the planned separation of many NBCUniversal cable networks later this year.
Comcast (CMCSA.O), opens new tab plans to spin off its cable channels such as CNBC and USA into a new company called Versant, signaling a significant shift in its media strategy as streaming takes precedence.
Left-leaning cable channel MSNBC – home to Rachel Maddow and other Trump-bashing anchors – was derided on Monday for the worst rebrand since New Coke after announcing a name change to MS NOW.
The head-scratching acronym for My Source News Opinion World was mercilessly mocked. Social media users quipped the ratings-challenged network’s new name stands for “Majorly Skewed News Overly Woke” or “Most Surely No One Watching.”
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