Microsoft and NBC to part ways; MSNBC to lose the 'MS'
MSNBC.com will be no more after NBC buys back Microsoft's shares and rebrands the site to NBCNews.com, the Daily Beast reports.
NBC Universal plans to buy back Microsoft's remaining control of the MSNBC.com site, putting an end to the two companies' partnership, the Daily Beast reported today.
The network will rebrand the Web site and drop Microsoft's "MS" to create NBCNews.com, unnamed sources told the Beast.
The companies plan to announce the split "within days," the report said, but a NBC representative told the news site that no deal has been struck yet. The site's employees, however, have been notified, according to the report.
Microsoft originally invested $220 million for a 50 percent stake in MSNBC, which launched in 1996. The software giant sold most of its control in 2005, leaving NBC with an 82 percent stake in the network and an option of claiming the remaining 18 percent after two years.
MSNBC.com continues to be one of the country's top news sites, with 55.7 million visitors earlier this year.