Comcast's announcement that it will spin off nearly all of its cable networks has left a host of questions about the path forward, especially given the intertwined nature of NBC News with MSNBC and, to a lesser extent, CNBC.
“I could be completely wrong. We could all be fired a year from now. You never know what will happen tomorrow,” Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough said on air this morning, before putting a more optimistic spin on the upcoming change.
“What they're doing is the same as what other media companies are doing — you're spinning off cable channels that were making a lot of money seven years ago. Now they're trying to figure out how to make them profitable.”
MSNBC and CNBC will be separated along with other channels like USA Network and The Golf Channel into a separate company led by Mark Lazarus, the current president of NBCUniversal Media Group. The new company, called SpinCo for now, “will be better positioned to achieve long-term growth and create value for stakeholders,” Comcast said.
Cable channels in general have suffered from viewer erosion, and while MSNBC had some ratings successes in the last election cycle, beating CNN in some key breaking news moments, the concern is about a long-term decline as viewers cut the cord and turn to streaming. Direct. Or turn to YouTube and social media alternatives.
The most pressing question is how and whether MSNBC will be linked to NBC News, which gave the cable network journalistic heft but is no longer under the same corporate umbrella. MSNBC anchors such as Jose Díaz-Balart and Katie Tur serve in dual roles as journalists for NBC News as well, and the cable network relies on its correspondents for breaking news updates. Andrea Mitchell, senior foreign affairs correspondent and NBC News' chief Washington correspondent, has anchored a daily show on MSNBC since 2008, though that will end after the inauguration. She will continue to serve as a correspondent for NBCU platforms.
Insiders point out that the structure is still being worked out. Meanwhile, talent and employees are predictably anxious, as well as whether the changes will mean downsizing given what has happened across the industry as a whole.
Some sort of arrangement between MSNBC and NBC News wouldn't be entirely unusual. For example, CBS News and the BBC have had a content sharing relationship for some time.
As intertwined as the networks have been, in recent years, MSNBC has been leaning on its prime-time hosts, including Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow, and Nicolle Wallace, as lead anchors for major breaking news events like Election Night. Led by Rashida Jones, the network also attempted to capitalize on its progressive fanbase, beginning a series of live events that included live broadcasts throughout the day. MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024 In Brooklyn in September.
MSNBC was launched in 1996 as a project between NBC and Microsoft, initially to emphasize the emerging Internet revolution through interactive segments. That eventually gave way to a focus on personalities from both the right and the left, including Tucker Carlson and Phil Donahue, before gaining more traction with a left-leaning prime-time lineup, including Keith Olbermann and Maddow.
Over the years, there has also been some tension between the broadcast network and MSNBC, with its roster of hosts — or what the network calls “perspective” programming. Earlier this year, a series of MSNBC anchors spoke out against NBC News' decision to hire Ronna McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chair, as a commentator. After the uproar, the hiring decision was reversed.
CNBC was a separate entity within the Comcast universe until only recent years, when Cesar Conde, president of NBCUniversal News Group, took over oversight of the network when he assumed the top role in 2020. One effort to include more general news reporting in CNBC's lineup, the newscast has been canceled Night with Shepard Smith, in 2022 due to low viewership.
Conde will remain at Comcast and oversee entities including NBC News, broadcast channel NBC News Now and Telemundo.
KC Sullivan, president of CNBC, wrote in a memo to staff that they would immediately begin reporting to Lazarus, with plans for him to address staff on Thursday.
“As we consider how today's news will impact CNBC, I first think of our unique position in the industry and in the minds of our audience: We are essential to our audience — not only as a cable network but also as an essential brand. We have an audience that is able and willing to pay for news content and ideas,” Sullivan wrote in the memo. We offer and have built a diverse, growing and profitable business.”
