MS NOW
 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | United States, Canada and International |
| Headquarters | 229 West 43rd Street, New York City |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | MS NOW Cable, LLC |
| Parent | Versant |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched |
|
| Replaced |
|
| Former names | MSNBC (1996–2025) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Service(s) | DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV |
| DirecTV | 356 |
MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) is an American cable news channel owned by Versant. The channel primarily broadcasts rolling news coverage and opinion journalism. Its studios are in Versant's world headquarters at 229 West 43rd Street, New York City. It also maintains a bureau in Washington, D.C., co-located with that of former parent division NBC News, while technical operations are handled from CNBC's studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Among cable news channels, the company is ranked second in ratings, well behind Fox News, but ahead of CNN. As of July 2026[update], The Rachel Maddow Show on MS NOW was the 7th ranked news program by number of viewers; the top 6 were all on Fox News.[1]
The channel was established in 1996 as MSNBC, a joint venture between NBC News and Microsoft (with its name being a portmanteau of "MSN" and "NBC") that encompassed the cable channel and the web portal MSNBC.com. Microsoft divested its stake in the TV channel in 2005, followed by the website in 2012; the website was subsequently rebranded as NBCNews.com, and MSNBC.com was later relaunched to focus on editorial content from the network's personalities and programming.
It initially focused on rolling news coverage, including long-form reports, interactive programs, and stories contributed by the local news departments of NBC's affiliates. By the late 2000s, the network shifted to primarily opinion journalism featuring liberal commentators such as Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, David Gregory, Ed Schultz, and Rachel Maddow; in 2010, MSNBC surpassed CNN in primetime and overall viewership for the first time since 2001. In the mid-2010s, amid a decline in viewership, MSNBC concentrated on hard news coverage, and added programs incorporating NBC News personalities.
Under new leadership in the 2020s, MSNBC began reducing its reliance on NBC News personalities, and expanded its own newsgathering resources. In November 2025, ahead of the corporate spin-off of Versant by Comcast, MSNBC separated itself from NBCUniversal Media Group and rebranded as "MS NOW" (a backronym of "My Source [for] News, Opinion, [and the] World").
Programming is simulcast on SiriusXM[2] and via TuneIn.[3] Content is also provided via a YouTube channel[4] and a streaming service with live streaming of the channel.
History
 | |
| 1909 | Independent Moving Pictures was founded by Carl Laemmle as the predecessor to Universal |
|---|---|
| 1912 | Universal Studios Hollywood was founded after Independent Moving merged with several smaller film studios |
| 1915 | Universal City, California, was established as the entertainment district for the Universal Studios Lot. |
| 1924 | MCA Inc. was founded by Jules Stein as a talent agency to book musicians |
| 1926 | RCA Corporation launched the NBC Radio Network, and by 1939, NBC began broadcasting on television. |
| 1934 | Decca Records America was established and would later grow to become Universal Music Group |
| 1946 | William Goetz and Leo Spitz began managing Universal Pictures, after merging International Pictures |
| 1952 | Decca Records America acquired a controlling stake in Universal Pictures |
| 1958 | MCA acquired the Universal Studios film lot and later purchased Decca Records America, and Universal Pictures in 1962 |
| 1963 | Comcast was founded as American Cable Systems by Ralph J. Roberts |
| 1973 | Decca Records America is retired as a brand and renamed to MCA Records |
| 1986 | General Electric acquired RCA Corp and dissolved the company while retaining ownership of NBC |
| 1990 | Panasonic acquired a Controlling interest in MCA, but sold it to Seagram within five years after growing costs |
| 1998 | MCA Records acquired Polygram N.V. from Philips and was renamed to Universal Music Group |
| 2000 | Seagram Entertainment was sold to Vivendi and merged with StudioCanal to become Vivendi Universal |
| 2002 | NBC acquired Telemundo while Comcast acquired AT&T Broadband |
| 2004 | Vivendi Universal was consolidated with General Electric's wholly owned NBC to form NBCUniversal, while Universal Music Group was separated |
| 2013 | Comcast closed its acquisition of NBCUniversal from General Electric |
| 2018 | Sky Group was acquired from 21st Century Fox after a bidding war |
| 2020 | Peacock was launched |
| 2026 | Majority of NBCU's cable networks were spun off into another company named Versant, while Comcast later announced it would spin-off NBCUniversal and Sky into a separate company |
1996–2007
MSNBC was established in 1996 via a joint venture between NBC and Microsoft organized by Tom Rogers.[5] James Kinsella, a Microsoft executive, served as president of the online component, MSNBC.com.[6] Microsoft invested $221 million for a 50% share of the cable channel.[7] The network launched on July 15, 1996. The first show was anchored by Jodi Applegate and included news, interviews, and opinion pieces.[8] The first three news stories MSNBC covered were Boris Yeltsin meeting then-vice president Al Gore despite concerns over Yeltsin's health, an update on the Bob Dole 1996 presidential campaign, and updated information about the Khobar Towers bombing.[9]
During the day, news coverage continued with The Contributors, a show that featured Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham, as well as interactive programming coordinated by Applegate, John Gibson, and John Seigenthaler Jr. Stories were generally longer and more detailed than those of CNN. It also aired stories and breaking news coverage directly from NBC's network affiliates.[10] Its flagship prime time newscast was The News, hosted by Brian Williams.[11] and The Site, a show about the Internet and computers co-hosted by Soledad O'Brien and a "live" computer-generated character called Dev Null played by Leo Laporte.[12]
At launch, the network positioned itself as being integrated with the Internet, with the slogan "It's Time to Get Connected", anchors' email addresses and phone numbers being promoted regularly on-air,[13][14] and shows such as Internight—a primetime talk show featuring viewer questions submitted via phone and email, and The Site—a technology news program co-anchored by Soledad O'Brien and Leo Laporte (the latter as a computer-animated character known as "Dev Null").[15][16][17] Beginning in September 1996, MSNBC began to air a simulcast of the New York-based radio show Imus in the Morning with Don Imus.[18][19]
MSNBC was originally headquartered from studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In November 1996, MSNBC moved to new studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.[20]
SportsCenter host Keith Olbermann left ESPN in an acrimonious split to join MSNBC in June 1997;[21][22] with Internight replaced by a new 8 p.m. show known as The Big Show with Keith Olbermann.[23] When the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke in 1998, The Big Show morphed into White House in Crisis. Olbermann became frustrated as his show was consumed by the Lewinsky story. He left MSNBC and joined FSN.[24] Olbermann was then replaced by Dateline NBC host John Hockenberry, whose show Edgewise became popular.[25]
In September 1997, MSNBC laid off 20% of its staff, and cancelled The Site due to low ratings and frequent pre-emptions for coverage of the deaths of Princess Diana of Mother Teresa.[26] That show was replaced by Headliners and Legends, a biography program that became a weekend staple on the network.[27]
A fictionalized version of MSNBC was featured in Deep Impact (1998).[28][29]
In 1999, Hardball with Chris Matthews moved to MSNBC and replaced Hockenberry's 8PM show Edgewise. Prior to this, Chris Matthews hosted Politics with Chris Matthews on MSNBC predecessor America's Talking. Hardball ran to March 2020.[30]
In January 2001, Mike Barnicle's show was launched, but it was canceled in June 2001 because of high production costs.[31]
Beginning in January 2001, Mitch Albom hosted his own two-hour program The Mitch Albom Show as an experimental cross-network feature that lasted a few months. Because it was produced primarily for radio listeners, it did not fit the traditional, visually driven cable news format.[32]
In early 2001, Erik Sorenson was named president of MSNBC.[33] Ashleigh Banfield was hired as an anchor to attract a younger audience.[34] Banfield was present during the collapse of 7 World Trade Center while covering the September 11 attacks.[35] Her Region in Conflict program showcased exclusive interviews from Afghanistan.[36]
MSNBC began calling itself "America's NewsChannel" and hired Alan Keyes, Phil Donahue, Pat Buchanan, and Tucker Carlson.[37] This branding makeover, however, was followed by declining ratings.[38]
The News with Brian Williams was relocated to CNBC in 2002.[39]
In December 2005, NBC Universal announced its acquisition of an additional 32% share of MSNBC from Microsoft.[40] The news website msnbc.com remained a separate joint venture between Microsoft and NBC until 2012.[41]
Two years later, NBC exercised its option to purchase Microsoft's remaining 18% interest in MSNBC.
In June 2006, Rick Kaplan resigned as president of MSNBC after holding the post for two years.[42] Dan Abrams, a nine-year veteran of MSNBC and NBC News, was named general manager of MSNBC.[43] NBC News senior vice president Phil Griffin oversaw MSNBC while continuing to oversee Today, with Abrams reporting to Griffin. That month, Abrams announced the revamp of MSNBC's early-primetime and primetime schedule.[44]
In July 2006, Tucker (formerly The Situation with Tucker Carlson) started airing at 4PM and 6PM ET, taking over Abrams' old timeslot, while Rita Cosby's Live & Direct was canceled. Cosby was made the primary anchor for MSNBC Investigates at 10PM and 11PM ET, a new program that took over Cosby and Carlson's timeslots.[45]
In August 2006, Keith Olbermann began critiquing and satirizing conservative media commentators such as Bill O'Reilly and politicians such as George W. Bush during his Countdown With Keith Olbermann program; this attracted liberal viewers and ratings of the show doubled.[46]
In September 2007, Abrams announced that he was leaving his general manager position so he could focus on his 9PM ET talk show, Live With Dan Abrams. Oversight of MSNBC was shifted to Phil Griffin.[47]
In October 2007, MSNBC and NBC News began broadcasting from new studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.[48] The extensive renovations of the associated studios allowed NBC to merge its entire news operation into one building. All MSNBC broadcasts and NBC Nightly News originate from the new studios. MSNBC also announced new studios near the Universal Studios lot.[49] MSNBC's master control did not make the move to 30 Rockefeller Plaza. It remained in the old Secaucus headquarters until it completed its move to the NBC Universal Network Origination Center inside the CNBC Global Headquarters building in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey in 2007. In January 2009, Major League Baseball began using the former MSNBC building in Secaucus for MLB Network.[50]
.svg){kind=link}