MS NOW That’s What I Call News

New York City—Comcast is spinning off its cable networks into a separate company called Versant. This change has forced MSNBC to do a complete rebrand before the end of 2025—without the iconic peacock logo. Like any hasty rebrand, it’s not been without its hiccups.

The first issue—the new name. MS NOW. Apparently outlets—where’s our notice?—are supposed to use the full name first before MS NOW since they feel it makes more sense. Let’s try that. MY SOURCE NEWS OPINION WORLD. That’s the proper way to write it out. It’s actually quite on brand for the former MSNBC because their source has always been themselves and everything they have ever published has been a news opinion they’ve flung into the world.

“What kind of crackhead came up with that acronym?” one Redditor remarked. “I guess it beats BSNBC and MSDNC, but not by much.”

MS NOW sounds like a short-lived Windows operating system from the early 2000s that needlessly redesigned too much and failed to be adopted by a critical mass of users https://t.co/kSJO19bJxX

— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) August 18, 2025

After news broke about the rebranding, many people were confused because they chose to keep the MS from MSNBC—which was a reference to the partnership that Microsoft and NBC started in 1996. Microsoft divested its interest in the network in 2005, and ultimately sold the remainder of its stake in 2012. There has been no other connection between the two entities in over 13 years.

When another Redditor found out that Microsoft hasn’t been involved for over a decade they remarked that, “It’s an odd choice to keep MS. They could’ve gone with literally anything else. It sounds like they’re demanding to contract Multiple Sclerosis NOW!”

Harkening back to 1996 like the original partnership, they riffed on the now iconic NOW That’s What I Call Music franchise as inspiration for the new logo.

“What did you expect me to do with a few day’s notice and an acronym that makes no sense?” Designer François Débordé quipped. “I’m trying to make sense of something that doesn’t even make sense to me.”

The second—and arguably funnier—issue is that none of the socials are available—including the domain. However, that is actually working out in MS NOW’s favor. Top execs were wondering how they might continue to pay their main talent—Rachel Maddow—as interest in the network has dwindled. It turns out, MS NOW will be starting a side project selling snowmobiles. Yes, you read that correctly—snowmobiles. The domain was owned by Korean snowmobile manufacturer, (주) Snowsung, looking to enter the American market and the two companies struck a deal. MS NOW gets the domain and in return they offered a sweetheart deal to Snowsung to advertise their snowmobiles.

“It’s the perfect partnership. We get to keep a cold and detached, unhinged and unpredictable progressive on the air which dovetails perfectly with the fun and excitement you could have in the snow on a snowmobile,” noted a top MS NOW executive who asked to remain anonymous.

The Rachel Maddow Show has been on the air since 2008. It’s one of the longest running progressive shows on television. Her detractors call her a partisan shill and her supporters watch MSNBC, so they can’t be trusted.

Brosé Sanchez

America First voice from Florida. Shares bold takes on culture, hypocrisy & history. Pronouns are: I, you, he/she, we, you, they. You should've learned that in grade school.

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