Major Cable News Network Is Changing Its Name

MSNBC is getting a major rebrand as the network drops NBC’s famous peacock logo.

The news network is being reintroduced as My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW, later this year, Deadline reports, as the network prepares for its spinoff from Comcast by building its own news division apart from NBC News.

News of the change broke on Monday as MSNBC prepares to become part of a new company, Versant, led by Mark Lazarus. It’s this transition that executives determined required a new brand name in order to prevent confusion with NBC News.

“During this time of transition, NBCUniversal decided that our brand requires a new, separate identity,” MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler wrote in a memo to employees obtained by Deadline. “This decision now allows us to set our own course and assert our independence as we continue to build our own modern newsgathering operation.”

“The future of our success is not tied to remaining within the NBC family and using the peacock as part of our identity,” the memo continued. “While our name will be changing, who we are and what we do will not. Our commitment to our work and our audiences will not waiver from what the brand promise has been for three decades.”

Kutler also noted that the rebranding will come along with a “broad-based marketing campaign, unlike anything we have done in recent memory.”

In a different memo obtained by the outlet, Larazus wrote that CNBC would be retaining its name, as it stands for Consumer News and Business Channel, but confirmed that it will be getting a new logo.

Meanwhile, sports programming on USA Network and Golf Channel will be joined under the new brand moniker USA Sports, with both USA Sports and Golf Channel getting new logos.

“As we all know, the peacock is synonymous with NBCUniversal, and it is a symbol they have decided to keep within the NBCU family,” Lazarus wrote. “This gives us the opportunity to chart our own path forward, create distinct brand identities, and establish an independent news organization following the spin.”