MSNBC to change its name to MS NOW and drop the peacock logo

MSNBC is changing its name to MS NOW and dropping its peacock logo as part of the cable channel's spinoff from Comcast's NBC Universal.

The new name stands for My Source News Opinion World, according to the company. MSNBC and several other cable channels owned by NBC Universal are spinning off into a new business called Versant, which will also include financial news channel CNBC and entertainment networks such as USA, Oxygen, E! and SYFY.

Comcast, the owner of NBC Universal, announced the spinoff in November amid struggling ratings for the cable industry as a whole. MSNBC's name change comes after the network was founded almost 30 years ago through a partnership between Microsoft and NBC, with the shorthand for the tech giant — MS — and NBC's brand forming the channel's name.

Changing its name to MS NOW "underscores the brand's mission to serve as the destination for domestic and international breaking news and the best-in-class opinion journalism," Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said in an internal memo.

He added, "Most importantly, while the name will be different, the brand's commitment to its audience will not change."

NBC's peacock logo will also be dropped from networks that will be part of Versant, including CNBC, which will retain its name, the company said.

To be sure, name changes always carry an inherent risk, and MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said that for employees, it is hard to imagine the network under a different name. "This was not a decision that was made quickly or without significant debate," she said in a memo to staff.

"During this time of transition, NBC Universal decided that our brand requires a new, separate identity," she wrote. "This decision now allows us to set our own course and assert our indepedence as we continue to build our own modern newsgathering organization."

In preparation for the spinoff, MSNBC has hired more than three-dozen journalists from outlets including Bloomberg, Politico, the Washington Post and CNN, the company said. Some NBC News personalities, like Jacob Soboroff, Vaughn Hillyard, Brandy Zadrozny and Antonia Hylton, have also joined MSNBC.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.