As MS NOW Studios Take Shape, Network Stars Welcome a Post-NBC Future

Call it a “cordial divorce.” Call it “leaving home.” Call it being “entrepreneurial.” Whatever you call it, the fact remains: MSNBC is turning into MS NOW in 10 days in its final split from NBC News, and its anchors seem ready for it. They also don’t have much of a choice.

All three descriptions were used on Wednesday by a coterie of the progressive cable network’s top talent as they framed the corporate split before a group of reporters at MS NOW’s temporary studios near Times Square, in the former home of the New York Times and Buzzfeed. It was the morning after Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory and the future of American politics — and the network — drove the conversation.

Reporters were treated to a spread of charcuterie staples and fresh juices as they questioned “Morning Joe” anchors Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski; prime time host Jen Psaki; “The Weeknight” co-host Michael Steele; and “The 11th Hour” host Stephanie Ruhle, nearly all of whom spoke glowingly of President Rebecca Kutler, who presided over the gathering.

“We’ve really been excited getting to know her and see how she thinks and how she does things and how proactive she is,” Brzezinski told the group. “So literally no worries about moving here.”

The election was the first true test of MSNBC as an independent newsgathering operation, covering Democratic wins in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and California.

“We feel kind of pride last night that we were just relying on our own reporters and our own information and our own data,” Psaki said. “And you know what? It was totally fine.”

On election night, Kutler added, “we had a news gathering operation that did not miss a beat.”

Kutler told reporters that she understood the “challenge” of rebranding a 30-year-old cable mainstay, something leadership didn’t initially plan to do, but also suggested there’s an opportunity to not only “reinforce to our current audience what we are doing,” but also invite others curious about MS NOW “to the table.”

Network executives are realistic about the potential impact the rebrand may have on ratings, especially in the softer holiday months, according to sources familiar with the matter. Still, they’re banking on the fact that channel numbers won’t change, so loyal viewers will know exactly where to find MS NOW.

Building a new newsroom

Ever since Comcast announced its decision last year to split most of its cable properties into a new company named Versant, thereby severing MSNBC’s reliance on NBC News, the network has worked to flesh out an independent newsroom. Kutler said it’s been “such a huge privilege in this moment to invest in journalism.”

It has hired dozens of journalists from the likes of NBC News, Politico and The Washington Post, casting its primetime lineup with Politico alum Eugene Daniels; setting up a national security operation staffed by star reporters Ken Dilenian and Pulitzer Prize-winner Carol Leonnig; and bringing on NBC News veterans Vaughn Hillyard and Jacob Soboroff, among many others. (Though others, such as data guru Steve Kornacki, stayed at NBC News.)

Kutler told TheWrap she is continuously seeking to invest in talent, including looking at independent and Substack-based creators, though she wouldn’t disclose names. “There is no place I don’t look for ideas,” she said. “I am a ferocious consumer of content.”

The cable network has also struck deals with the U.K.-based Sky News, expanding its opportunity for international reporting, and NBC News’ affiliate network to lean into local reporting of national news events.

The investment isn’t limited to a headcount. Even in MS NOW’s temporary office space, jokingly referred to by staffers as “Summer Camp,” the network has fashioned high-end studios that mirror those at its longtime home at 30 Rockefeller Center.

In each of its three studio spaces in New York, which its various shows will share, LED screens litter the walls, enough to fill up seven football fields. A virtual reality studio occupies an entire room, enabling its hosts to surround themselves with a backdrop without the need for a green screen.

“I got a view of the room that is the green screen, and it wasn’t just a green screen,” Steele said. “It’s a seriously built-out space.”

“You can’t wear a white shirt,” Psaki joked to Steele.

“That’s OK,” he laughed, wearing a purple shirt. “I’m good with color.”

Joe spills the tea

The change of scenery also allowed the hosts to expand their mindsets about what they can accomplish at the network.

Scarborough said he brought up the idea of a “Morning Joe”-branded newsletter three months ago as the show approached its 20th anniversary, which appeared to get a quick approval from Kutler. But as he worked on test versions of the product, he said he wanted to test how committed his new leadership was to his ideas.

“I got a quote from a new book about the Royals, and it was a Prince Philip quote after he left Harry and Meghan’s wedding,” Scarborough said. “The quote was to Queen Elizabeth II. ‘Thank f–k that’s over.’” And so I sent poor [MSNBC’s vice president of morning programming] Alex Korson up with it, waiting for hell to rain down from above.”

But, Scarborough said, executives’ concerns had nothing to do with the splashy quote from Grant Harrold’s “The Royal Butler.”

“He said, ‘Well, they were worried about the wraparound text,’” Scarborough said. “I said, ‘Oh my God, these people really are entrepreneurial.’”

The newsletter, called “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe,” launched last week. The name was coined by someone on the “Morning Joe” team.

“Our newsgathering is, like, we’re on our phone,” Brzezinski said. “What we do is a lot of 24/7 connecting with everybody who’s anybody in politics right now.”

Psaki said she was always committed to working on her podcast “The Blueprint,” but the new MS space offered the opportunity for dedicated podcast spaces in New York and Washington, D.C., where she’s based.

“That’s part of what’s exciting to me, is being able to make it easy to do content in lots of different formats and places,” she said.

Taking stock of Mamdani’s victory

The conversation, taking place in midtown Manhattan, unsurprisingly circled back to Mamdani’s victory.

Scarborough said he next wants to host a “peace-making” lunch with Mayor-elect Mamdani, Anti-Defamation League President Jonathan Greenblatt and MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton, an exercise to “break bread” with each other and settle policy differences in the wake of Mamdani’s win.

Later, Ruhle said she was texting with Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman, a notable anti-Mamdani opponent, just after the race was called for him. “I personally thought, isn’t it great Bill Ackman sent out a text after Mamdani won, and said, ‘Let’s work together’?” she said.

She said the business community’s desire to engage with Mamdani now, even after its initial opposition, signaled that people needed to find a way to work together when a candidate can inspire so many to vote. (New York City saw two million people cast ballots in the mayoral election, the most in decades.)

Such engagement from its hosts adds a level of urgency to MS NOW, one Kutler hopes will help it stand out among the competitive news set in a cable market beset by cord-cutters.

“Where was Mamdani yesterday morning? He was on the set with them,” Kutler said, gesturing to Scarborough and Brzezinski. “Where was [New Jersey Governor-elect] Mikie Sherrill this morning? With them. Twenty years in, find me another franchise that will still consistently command the guest of the moment on any given morning. There is nowhere else that you’re going to turn on every morning to see that.”

“I mean, who watches our show still?” Scarborough said, a smirk adorning his face. “The guy who Truth Social-ed about me yesterday. Thank you, sir!”

The “guy,” of course, was President Donald Trump.

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