EXCLUSIVE: MS NOW Rebrand 'Backfires' As Ratings Reach '25 Year' Low... After Network Had 'Significant Debate' Over Dramatic Name Change
MSNBC's rebrand to MS NOW has not led to an increase in viewership.
Dec. 12 2025, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
MSNBC's big name change to MS NOW seems to be backfiring, RadarOnline.com can exclusively report, as the cable news network is suffering some of its lowest ratings in over 25 years.
The organization recently ditched the peacock connection from its name in a new rebranding.
'The Problems Remain the Same'
The liberal-leaning network has been hemorrhaging viewers to conservative sources like Fox News.
MSNBC originally debuted as part of a partnership between Microsoft and NBC. But after parent company Comcast spun the cable channel off into a new company named Versant, it was forced to ditch any previous connection to the peacock network.
Instead, network execs unveiled MS NOW, an acronym for "My Source News Opinion World." However, industry insiders say viewers' opinion seems to be "pass."
"A name change and the problems remain the same – MS NOW has zero vision, even less leadership, and stale content," one source told Radar. "There’s nothing exciting or interesting going on outside of a bunch of angry people on television shouting at the camera."
That charge seems to be backed up in the latest Nielsen Media Research 4th Quarter ratings, which reveal MS NOW is drawing only 52,000 daytime viewers among the advertiser-coveted age 25-54 demographic.
That's putting the network on pace for its lowest fourth quarter since 1999.
'What Were They Thinking?'
Stars like Rachel Maddow routinely trail hosts on at the same time on Fox News and CNN.
Part of the blame could go to the rebrand, after media analysts and viewers all blasted the new MS NOW name as awkward and confusing.
Syracuse University Broadcast Journalism Professor Les Rose told Radar the new name instantly discredited the new network.
"You are including 'opinion' in the name of a news organization, which should pride itself on, you know, actual journalism and not their opinion! What were they thinking?"
Rose also critiqued the branding itself, adding: "'My Source News Opinion World' sounds like the answer for a Scrabble player with too many tiles. Or a drunk at a bar."
Critics Go Off On Network
Media pundits and viewers have skewered the new name.
His criticism echoed fan feedback on X, where users insisted that the name evokes other references, including the chronic disease that affects nearly three million people worldwide.
"Multiple Sclerosis Now! Mississippi Now!" one person tweeted. "Did they seriously not even Google MS before going with this? Or are they just going all in on the single women 'Miss' thing?"
Another sarcastically echoed: "Who wants MS NOW? It’s an insult to all the sick people. Terrible renaming."
One person scoffed about the liberal-leaning network: "MS now stands for 'Misinformation Superstars' NOW."
As a fourth person reasoned, "MSNBC is acting like changing its name to MS NOW is going to bring viewership up. Viewership will never go up for them if they only keep having radical Democrats on spewing their garbage."
The Name Change Was 'Not a Light Decision'
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MSNBC has been criticized by President Trump and conservatives for its liberal leanings.
In a memo previously sent to employees, MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said the new name was meant to reflect the network's mission to provide "breaking news and best-in-class opinion journalism."
She added the change was not taken lightly.
"I want to acknowledge that for many of you who have spent years or decades here, it is hard to imagine the network by any other name," Kutler continued. "This was not a decision that was made quickly or without significant debate."
