“Comcast Corp, the parent company of NBC, has bought out Microsoft Corp’s 50 percent stake in MSNBC.com for a reported $300 million to assume full control of the news website,” Reuters reports. “The deal ends 16 years of a 50-50 joint venture between Microsoft and NBCUniversal, which is now majority-owned by Comcast Corp, NBC said. ‘Today we’re taking on a new name – NBCNews.com. While our name is changing, our commitment is not,’ Jennifer Sizemore, editor-in-chief of NBCNews.com, said in a letter posted on the company’s website. ‘The ties are deep, and untangling them will take at least two years,’ the network said.”
Reuters reports, “NBC and Microsoft joined forces in 1996 to create a cable news channel and online news operation that melded broadcasting with then-emerging internet technology. At that time, Microsoft invested $220 million for its 50 percent stake in NBC. In 2005, the companies terminated their partnership operating the MSNBC cable channel and NBC was acquired by Comcast four years later.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related article:
Microsoft and NBC to finally split: MSNBC.com to become NBCNews.com – July 11, 2012
Yet another major mistake by Microsoft.
No company in their right mind would want to handicap their brand with what degenerated into a minority political extreme fringe channel. Microsoft’s brand was associated with the Madcows, Olbermans (while he lasted), and the leg tinglers of the world. The whole deal was stupid from the outset.
Fox News Channel destroys MSNBC with double, triple, even quadruple the ratings.
According to the most recent Gallup poll, “Conservatives Remain the Largest Ideological Group in U.S.”
American’s describe themselves as:
• 40% – Conservative
• 35% – Moderate
• 21% – Liberal
(Gallup, 2012)
The end result of this stupid MSNBC deal was that Microsoft branded themselves with a minority political extreme and alienated themselves from at least 75% of the U.S.
Microsoft’s bad decisions are an unending parade.
The problem with people like you is that they exist.
Typical libertard response. Shows your true assholian brown colors. Time to scream Racist! isn’t it? Too many Democrats are a bunch of insufferable jerks who’s idea of debate is all one-sided and I am ashamed to say I am registered as one.
No facts, no arguments, just blind ad hominem attacks. Perhaps you could make a reasoned argument?
I just gave an opinion, just like how 2010 did. I can’t say he used facts because he used opinions as facts. I wrote that because I hate reading anyone’s political agenda. So yes I wish people like him and now you didn’t exist on website for tech.
That reply was ment for Peterblood71, sorry Anaknipedro.
You put way too much faith in polls. It’s as misplaced as your belief that Mitt Romney is actually a viable choice for President.
Yes. And Comcast is as evil as MS. Barry Goldwater was conservative. So was Ronald Reagan. Any American with half a brain who hasn’t been brainwashed by Fox… oh, never mind. Back to Mac and Tech news- I don’t need this s***….
Agreed. People label themselves without understanding what the label stands for, for instance: I identify myself as a FISCAL conservative, not a social conservative, and there are those that describe themselves as a fiscal liberal, and/or a social liberal.
I care not what your sexual orientation/religious belief is, there is no legitimate reason for those beliefs to be a part of government.
I care vehemently about fiscal policy. Fiscal policy in the US has been horrendous since 1964. Hopefully it reached its zenith in the last 3 years, and we will commence reducing our national debt.
It took Chile 20+ years of austerity to wipeout its national debt ENTIRELY, and balance the budget with a mere 17% income tax (flat by the way).
The Chilean economy/currency is one of the most stable in the world.
Surveyors would do well to define liberal and conservative identities far more intelligently than is currently done.
Chile has a public healthcare option. 7% of payroll funds it. Chile is also setup in a way that prevents filibuster and forces the different lawmaker sides to COMPROMISE and actually accomplish things. But of course they do not have only two parties either..Corruption is low there..
Good post. You summarized my feelings on labels quite well, although I would add that people also label others without fully understanding the label or the intended recipients.
I am also a fiscal conservative who is progressive in social and environmental issues. I have seen very little true fiscal conservatism in action in the U.S. Federal Government over the past several decades. The self-anointed fiscal conservatives are big spenders and tax cutters who seem more concerned about social issues.
Well it may be that the fix is in AGAIN.
http://www.thelandesreport.com/VotingMachineCompanies.htm
Did you know that 80 % of the countries electronic votes are now counted by ONE company? A company with at least 11 cases of highway bid rigging under it’s belt. A company with Republicans on it’s BOD…
Get ready for your November thrashing you ignorant acerbic worm.
Really, Romney is ‘your guy’ ?? Which Romney do you like most?
Near as I can tell he is a well lubricated weather vane, his position changes with the wind.
Can’t wait for all the juicy bits to come out about him, he is already squirming and crying like a baby over his Bain lies.
This is the pillar of your party? What does that say?
Um… My comment were directed at “first210then2012″… How on earth do you read them as: Romney is my guy…?????
Wasn’t meant for you, not sure how that happened?
Get ready for your November thrashing and demise, you ignorant acerbic worm.
Well since they power Faux News web presence and tech, it’s about time they pulled out now isn’t it?
And for the record, MSNBC was not a liberal propaganda channel just because Rush told you it was.
Maddow is a progressive, and the only person on that network sticking it out there. On Fox you had Colmes, remember him, the guy they dumped so Hannity could have no one to challenge his hate spewed nonsense. (Fair and balanced, remember?) They replaced him with a bunch of bobble headed cheerleading blondes.
Quite frankly if you need any of the cable news channels in 2012, you are a lackey sheep. They are all sensationalist, war mongering, corporate pawns anyway.
“Progressive” is just another name for liberal, adopted when the term fell into disfavor. I recall the 1988 election when Dukakis tried like the dickens to avoid the description until, in the final weeks, he admitted “I’m a liberal”, thinking that would energize the base. He was subsequently trounced by George HW Bush.
Dukakis would have been trounced by Bush regardless of any labels that were acknowledged by him in the past week. Besides, there is no shame in being either a “liberal” or a “progressive” except in your binary world. I will not let you fabricate shame where none is warranted. Rather, the shame is in attempting to impose your limited social view on the world by opposing equal rights for every human being, regardless of whether or not they fit your social/religious viewpoint. I also believe that it is ridiculous to undermine legitimate science when it does not support your beliefs. And a lack of respect for the Earth’s environment shows a lack of respect for our descendants.
George Bush the Elder was a learned gentleman and a statesman, and I admire him. His son is a dolt who should never have been elected. To be fair, however, the Democrats nominated weak candidates who were unable to effectively battle the folksy, born again Bush. And, yet, he still almost lost to Kerry.
I would agree on everything you said, except the first and last sentence of the second paragraph.
Bush was no gentleman, he was a connected spook. He definitely was a crony capitalist.
It is possible BUSH did lose to Kerry, but his daddies network delivered.
This is an interesting book I read about the Bush family. http://www.amazon.com/American-Dynasty-Aristocracy-Fortune-Politics/dp/0670032646
@ Truth: spot on!
“And for the record, MSNBC was not a liberal propaganda channel just because Rush told you it was.”
The Truth is correct!
Faux News is a left leaning biased mainstream machine while MSNBC is journalistically fair and balanced.
And just then, I woke up …
Nope, you got it wrong.
Fox is very clearly right wing.
MSBC is not the leftist utopian network right wingers purport it to be. Yes Maddow is a progressive, but overwhelmingly MSNBC like CNN is nothing more than a sensationalist parrot advancing a corporate agenda.
There is NO fair and balanced cable news network, but as they go MSNBC was more accommodating to both sides than Fox by a long shot. I know you conservatives hate your women to talk back or offer opinion, at least thats why I assume you like all the blonde bobble heads on fox. It does tend to fit your misogynistic world views and backwards ass religions.
Wondered why a left centric network aligned itself with enterprise that typically is all over the map. Interresting. Damage control …
More ideological claptrap from an idiot. Conservatives have always been the biggest consumer of “fringe” media. AM talk radio has been dominated by conservative audiences since before you were born. that in itself is nothing new. Nor is it right ofd wrong, or anything other than a survey of media consumption. America tends to split evenly on the old conservative vs liberal POV. I think that if you look a little deeper, you will find that the split had more to do with ROI than anything else. No audience change in a balkanized cable channel business is going to change that.
Ditto!! Well said FIRST 2010 🙂
Regardless of liberal or conservative – they really need to get rid of those rabid far left hack, vile hosts. Ed Schultz, Maddow, self-described communist Lawrence O’Donnell and of course the ambulance-chasing Al Sharpton. What a disgrace.
Amen. Conservative hosts are actually a lot more fair and decent than the left who emphasize smarmy superiority when none exists. Hubris is the left’s downfall. They are the first to yell the equivalent of “Fire!” when losing an argument, which is often.
PURE BS as usual Peter…
Pundits are not ‘FAIR’ whatever notion you have of it, is delusional. They exist to rabble-rouse their base and embarrass the other side, NONE of which is news. It is a bunch of divisive rhetoric used to divide the populace, while our freedoms, money and assets are fleeced.
Great return on investment Monkey Boy👍
Well, I just as soon have MS owning it. I don’t have much of anything to do with MS or MSNBC. I do use Comcast. Now they will try and force CC-NBC on me. And I live in a one pony internet (Comcast) town!
Even DSL is not a good option!
I wonder if MS had invested 220 million in purchasing Apple shares back 16 years ago, what announcement would they have made today? More than 300 million in return had they sold their stake in Apple today??? I dunno…
A $220M stake sold for $300M after 16 years. That’s an annual ROR of less than 2%. Way to go, Balmer. I like that plan, I like it a lot.
That $220 million in AAPL in1996 would be worth Billions and Billions instead Microsoft made 80 million after 16 years
I’m still chuckling over the deniers here that claim that MSNBC is not a far left opinion channel. THEY don’t hide it so what’s the point in denying it here in this thread? Their target audience is the 20% or so of the viewing public who lean heavily left. I have no problem with that. It’s a free country and they can market to a niche if they want.
Meanwhile, Murdoch, who despite being an avowed left-of-centrist has staked out his target demographic as the other 80%. Fox doesn’t kill in the ratings because they’re brilliant (the “Fair and Balanced” branding is just an excuse to get both sides on the air and let them argue) but rather that they cater to a large majority of Americans. America, being a center/right nation, is going to gravitate to a news organization that doesn’t treat them like Neanderthals. Just good business sense on Murdoch’s part.
As for MS, they LOST money on this deal after you factor in inflation. MS is just cutting their losses knowing that ultimately, MSNBC is going the way of Salon.com. They also probably have noticed that CNN has recently decided to move left in its politics realizing that FNC has cornered the center/right demo. So I think we’re going to see CNN squeeze MSNBC out to the ultra left fringe so far that only the White House and academia will be watching anymore. When that happens, their advertising dollar will dry up and the whole operation will collapse.
That’s the free enterprise system for you.
Designed to pit the citizens of opposition parties against each other while it rapes both, it’s clear the two-party political system created by one federal government is working extremely well. Priceless.
Finally, somebody here gets it……