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| Claude Singer |
It sounds like bad news from a blood test: “MS NOW.” That’s the new name for the former MSNBC cable news channel, which was separated from NBC and housed under a different parent, Versant.
MS NOW is supposed to stand for My Source for News, Opinion and the World—in a sleight-of-words that’s called a backronym. (You pick the letters first, then make them into a slogan.)
As a brand strategist, I’ve faced dozens of similar re-naming challenges. You have to tell people that you’ve changed your name, but you want to remind them that you’re still you. It’s always tricky, and I’m not going to take any potshots at MS NOW. Its marketing leaders deserve a hearty “vaya con dios” for finding a solution, albeit an awkward one.
As media companies sort out their ownership and brands, more important than naming is their ability to deliver perceived value. I’ll spare you a tedious discourse on the obvious—that the consumption of news and opinion is fragmented and competition for audience attention is fierce.
To assert continued relevance under the new name, MS NOW announced: “The same familiar and trusted hosts and journalists who make sense of what is happening in Washington, across the country, and around the world will still be here.”
This might be reassuring to the hosts and journalists themselves, but is “the same familiar” hosts and journalists what media consumers want? Overall, the network has suffered a significant decline in viewership. The total number of viewers in the second quarter of 2025 was down -15 percent from last year’s second quarter. Over this year’s second quarter, MSNBC had only one show in the top 10 among cable news channels (ranked by Adweek):
1. "The Five" (Fox News) 3,851,000.
2. "Jesse Watters Primetime" (Fox News) 3,431,000.
3. "Gutfeld!" (Fox News) 3,009,000.
4. "Hannity" (Fox News) 3,006,000.
5. "Special Report with Bret Baier" (Fox News) 2,888,000.
6. "The Ingraham Angle" (Fox News) 2,749,000.
7. "The Will Cain Show" (Fox News) 2,168,000.
8. "Outnumbered" (Fox News) 2,045,000.
9. "The Rachel Maddow Show" (MSNBC) 2,039,000.
10. "The Faulkner Focus" (Fox News) 1,945,000.
The persistent issue is: Do media consumers want the “same familiar” content under a new name?
According to MS NOW’s introductory announcement: “Our mission remains the same: You’ll find the same commitment to justice, progress, and the truth.” Built into this mission is an inherent contradiction: News framed to advance a passion for “justice” and “progress” doesn’t necessarily align with the public’s opinion of what’s true.
With its flagging viewer numbers, you have to ask why MS NOW didn’t take the opportunity to change its mission—and its content model—along with the name. Just brainstorming here: I might suggest they simply drop “the truth,” which is in the eye of the beholder anyway, right? Drop the truth and simply focus on being the media champion for justice and progress.
If the network focuses on justice and progress, it will have justification for an authentic new name, not a silly backronym. MS NOW could serve its core of passionate viewers under a name like—now go with me here—Always Demand Vibrant Opinion Created Angrily Concerning You (i.e. ADVOCACY).
With a name like ADVOCACY, the network wouldn’t have to waste time explaining itself and pretending to care about the truth.
***
Claude Singer is Managing Partner of Brandsinger.
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