MSNBC Is Coming To An End: Left-Leaning Cable Network To Change Its Name To MS NOW After Suffering Dramatic Decline In Ratings and NBCUniversal Split
The 'Morning Joe' crew will soon be reporting under a new banner.
Aug. 18 2025, Published 10:37 a.m. ET
MSNBC is no more, RadarOnline.com can report. The all-news network, which has been a frequent target of Donald Trump's vitriol, will be ditching the peacock network from its name in a new rebranding.
The new channel will be renamed MS NOW by the end of the year in an attempt to fix sinking ratings.
Ratings for shows – including Rachel Maddow's – have been in a steady decline.
The network, which originally debuted as part of a partnership between Microsoft and NBC, is part of a larger spinoff of cable channels from Comcast, NBC's parent company.
In a memo sent to employees Monday, MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said the new name is meant to reflect the network's mission to provide "breaking news and best-in-class opinion journalism."
She added the change was not an easy decision.
"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."
Viewers Don't Approve
The new logo for MS NOW ditches the NBC reference.
The move was met with skepticism and criticism, especially as the new name seems to invoke other meanings, including the chronic disease affecting nearly three million people worldwide.
On X, one person raged: "Multiple Sclerosis Now! Mississippi Now! 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.
New Name, New Game
The name change comes among an ongoing shake-up at the network, including the firing of Joy Reid.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the new name is expected to come with some major new changes as the network desperately goes into crisis mode over tanking ratings.
"It's gonna be a bloodbath," warned an insider amid growing rumors that layoffs are on the horizon. "The network's making sweeping changes, and no one's job is safe. Execs are desperate to stop the ratings freefall, but it might be too late."
The struggling network previously canceled The ReidOut, hosted by Joy Reid, and shuffled several of its other hosts into new time slots, including Michael Steele, Symone Sanders-Townsend, Katie Phang, and Alicia Menendez.
Insiders say the changes are all a reflection of Trump's rise to power and the network's seeming lack of connection to American viewers who are flowing to conservative outlets like Fox News.
Other Network Changes
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MSNBC has been criticized by President Trump and conservatives for its liberal leanings.
MSNBC isn't the only Comcast network to get a rebrand, as a new company called Versant will be tasked with rebranding without the NBC link. The same will happen for all of Versant’s brands that have a peacock in the logo.
Sports content on the USA Network and Golf Channel will be branded together under USA Sports. Digital companies GolfNow and SportsEngine will also change their logos.
However, business network CNBC will retain its name, which, despite being owned by Comcast, never included the "National Broadcasting Company" as many may have believed.
CNBC stands for "Consumer News and Business Channel."
