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NBC Purchases MSNBC Rights From Microsoft

Posted by samzenpus on from the under-new-management dept.

flatt writes "Ending a sixteen year partnership between the now Comcast-owned NBCUniversal and Microsoft, the MSNBC.com website has been immediately renamed to NBCNews.com. Both parties note that the integration between both parties is deep and will require 2 years to complete the decoupling. For the immediate future, NBC will continue to provide news content for MSN.com and Microsoft will continue to be the advertising provider for the site. Content control, brand confusion, and partisan content are cited as reasons behind the breakup. Microsoft sold its 50% share in the MSNBC TV rights to NBC back in 2005."

2 of 209 comments (clear)

  1. Partisan content? by mpoulton · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Does that mean that Microsoft didn't like MSNBC's political bias, or that NBC didn't like Microsoft's insertion of political bias on MSNBC.com?

    --
    I am a geek attorney, but not your geek attorney unless you've already retained me. This is not legal advice.
    1. Re:Partisan content? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Or maybe MS wants to focus on other things. Also the venture for MS may not have been profitable. The summary is partially correct: in 2005, MS sold 32% of its 50% stake of the venture and gave up control as well. MSNBC from them was probably partisan from NBC's control not MS.

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      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.