MSNBC, the US cable news channel, has announced it will change its name to MS Now later this year after splitting from NBC. The new name, which stands for My Source News Opinion World, will see the channel join a spin-off from Comcast called Versant, alongside CNBC, Golf Channel, GolfNow and SportsEngine. In a statement, MSNBC said the change "underscores our mission: to serve as your destination for breaking news and thoughtful analysis".
The rebrand has already attracted ridicule online, with one Reddit user comparing it to a product from the Microsoft Office suite, while another suggested it sounded like "demanding to be given multiple sclerosis immediately". The reaction is part of a long history of corporate rebrands that have been met with mockery, from Facebook's switch to Meta and Twitter's change to X, to the UK fund manager Standard Life Aberdeen becoming "abrdn".
Marketing experts say such changes are not undertaken lightly. Americus Reed, a marketing professor at the Wharton business school, said: "Consumers would be shocked at the amount of effort that is often behind many of these changes." He noted that companies can spend months and hundreds of thousands of dollars agonising over fonts and colours. The 2009 Tropicana packaging redesign, which led to a 20% drop in sales and was quickly reversed, serves as a cautionary tale.
Sadie Dyer, strategy director at branding agency Siegel+Gale, said the search for a legally available and trademarkable name is "not to be underestimated". MSNBC faces a particular challenge because the NBC brand and its peacock logo are among the most iconic in US media. "You can't compete with the peacock logo. That's some of the best branding that there is," Dyer said.
The move comes as the streaming wars have led to a series of rebrands and new services, including Peacock, Paramount Plus and HBO Max, which changed its name to Max before reverting to HBO Max this year. Casey Bloys, chair of HBO content, said cable television has been having a hard time with the transition to digital. Regardless of the name, change is likely to draw critics. "It's the nature of change... it's always going to result in people immediately resisting," Dyer added.
