Comcast to spin off MSNBC, CNBC into separate company

MSNBC may have to morph into a different kind of news outlet in the new era of the second administration of President-elect Donald Trump, Variety reported Wednesday.

The network is doing some navel-gazing, especially as ratings went through the floor precisely as Trump celebrated his stunning election victory. It could ultimately change its name, brand, and even identity after Comcast announced plans to spin off most of its cable television networks into a separate company. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new company that will manage the cable outlets has been temporarily dubbed "SpinCo."

NBCUniversal Chairman Mark Lazarus, who has been named the CEO of the new entity, reportedly broke the news to a select few of the network’s upper echelon including Rachel Maddow, Chris Jansing, and Katy Tur. Lazarus said he was uncertain how much change the outlet would have to endure but that it would lead to a "new growth trajectory," according to The Reporter. The plan is for MSNBC to be divided along with CNBC from the original NBC network and NBCUniversal. The question was asked whether the separate cable networks could still use the traditional and well-known branding of NBC, a network that goes back to the early days of radio under David Sarnoff.

Any split would also affect the way the current MSNBC gathers and disseminates the news as well as who is employed to do so. Lazarus reportedly didn’t have a lot of answers. A separation of the media company could mean that reporters, contributors, and stories could no longer be shared between the two entities.

MSNBC, like all of the mainstream media, is suffering from a decreasing number of viewers and is projected to lose 10.5 percent of its subscribers between December 2023 and December 2025, according to market research company Kagan, Variety noted. CNN is also reportedly laying off hundreds of staff, including on-air talent, before the end of the year. MSNBC might have 61.3 million viewers by the end of 2025, down from the 68.5 million it had in 2023.

Despite the bad news, Lazarus reportedly said the new corporation would be “a well-funded start-up,” with some kind of office space in Manhattan although he wouldn’t say where the headquarters would be located. MSNBC first went on the air in 1996 as a partnership between Microsoft and NBC – hence the name. Over the years it became increasingly interested in news opinion and drifted further to the left.

Even the Associated Press is experiencing some of the financial losses that other mainstream media outlets are experiencing. The outlet is cutting its staff by 8 percent through a combination of firings and buyouts.