MSNBC will change its name as part of corporate divorce from NBC

Changing its mind about keeping its name, the MSNBC news network said Monday it will become My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW for short, as part of its corporate divorce from NBC.

The TV network which appeals to liberal audiences has been building its own separate news division from NBC News. It will also remove NBC’s peacock symbol from its logo as part of the change, which will take effect later this year.

The name change was ordered by NBC Universal, which last November spun off cable networks USA, CNBC, MSNBC, E! Entertainment, Oxygen and the Golf Channel into its own company, called Versant. None of the other networks are changing their name.

MSNBC got its name upon its formation in 1996, as a partnership then between Microsoft and NBC. 

The affiliation between a news division that is supposed to espouse objectivity and one that doesn’t hide its liberal bent has long caused tension. President Donald Trump refers to the cable network as “MSDNC,” for Democratic National Committee.

Even before the corporate change, NBC News has been reducing the use of its personalities on MSNBC.