Friday, December 23, 2005

No more MSNBC? Well, not quite, but expect a name change and almost certainly a programming overhaul, according to an online story in the Wall Street Journal.

Now that NBC Universal (frankly, I didn't realize that was the name of the umbrella company formed in May 2004) has acquired a controlling interest in the cable and online venture with Microsoft, the MSN part of the television operation appears to be fading.

"The partners have different but complementary reasons to scuttle their relationship," according to the story. "The hoped-for synergies between software and media that helped to spur the MSNBC partnership about a decade ago never really materialized. Microsoft's desire to leave the partnership seems to be further evidence that it wants to focus more on its core businesses. As for NBC, it would prefer to run MSNBC -- likely under a new name -- on its own, without having to deal with a partner whose interest in the channel clearly has faded."

MSNBC currently ranks fourth in the ratings behind News Corp.'s top-rated Fox News Channel, CNN's flagship channel, and even CNN Headline News. As for the programming component, "Acquiring a controlling interest in MSNBC will allow us to fully integrate the channel into our news operations and our overall cable platform," says Steve Capus, president of NBC News. Given that MSNBC is my news channel of choice, I don't care what they call it as long as there remains a news channel to watch 24/7 from NBC News.
E-mail this item | Add Your Comments | QuickLink this item: A94280



E-Media Tidbits Archive

View items published between:		and
	(MM/DD/YYYY)		(MM/DD/YYYY)

MAIN | Back to Top