14-03-2025
MSNBC May Add New Products Once It's Split from NBC News
MSNBC's Rebecca Kutler and her senior executives are feverishly working behind the scenes preparing for the network's spin-off from its longtime corporate sibling NBC News.
The network is in the process of looking for new office and studio space. It recently hired Scott Matthews to oversee its newsgathering buildout and is looking to hire more than 100 journalists.
With the impending loss of NBC News' content and digital footprint, MSNBC is looking at this opportunity as a fresh start.
As it embarks on its startup journey, MSNBC will lean heavily toward its progressive stance in creating its new identity.
According to The New York Magazine, MSNBC, "backed by a $7 billion corporate parent, gets to build something bespoke to its audience."
Kutler's cleared white board offers her the chance to launch new products, including a new streaming service to complete its linear service.
Other opportunities that may be explored include further expanding its live event business, growing out its digital and audio businesses, and working with political platforms and brands with ready-built audiences.
TVNewser reached out to MSNBC for comment and received no response as of this story's publishing.
MSNBC has had success and can quickly build on its live event business. Launched in 2023 MSNBC Live Event are intimate forums and large-scale audience experiences with the network's anchors and hosts participating and interacting directly with their respective fanbases.
This past January it co-hosted the fourth and final Democratic National Committee leadership forum alongside Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public, in Washington D.C. This was the network's second event in the nation's capital with the first one taking place in Oct. 2024.
In Sept. 2024, it held two Democracy 2024 sessions at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York. This featured MSNBC's top talent, providing audiences with in-depth discussions of the country's political landscape as it approached the 2024 presidential election.
MSNBC Live Event is part of the network's continuing mission to engage its core audience beyond the screen.
As the network recovers from a rough ratings spell period at the end of 2024, it is set to unveil a refreshed programming schedule in the next few weeks.
The opportunity MSNBC has been presented with as it sets on an independent path gives it the leverage to explore new opportunities at brand expansion.
It does this as its linear business faces challenging headwinds.
