MS Now, formerly MSNBC, sounds like Multiple Sclerosis Now, and one must wonder how they came up with that name. According to a report at EurWeb, they put a lot of thought into it.
The rebranding didn’t work and CNN is still a disaster.
They had some good numbers in November during the election coverage, but it was a temporary blip.
The media industry doesn’t like them any more than the public:
“A name change and the problems remain the same – MS NOW has zero vision, even less leadership, and stale content,” one source told Radar. “There’s nothing exciting or interesting going on outside of a bunch of angry people on television shouting at the camera.”
MSNBC, now MS Now, was even too much for corrupt NBC and its parent company, Comcast, so they split.
According to EurWeb, Syracuse University Broadcast Journalism Professor Les Rose said the new name undermines the network’s credibility. “You are including ‘opinion’ in the name of a news organization, which should pride itself on, you know, actual journalism and not their opinion! What were they thinking?”
Recent ratings performance confirms industry criticism.
Now MS Now Now Is Down 39%, Worst Since 1999
According to Nielsen Media Research’s fourth-quarter data, MS NOW is averaging 52,000 daytime viewers in the key 25–54 demographic. The network is heading toward its lowest-performing fourth quarter since 1999.
Average viewership in 2025:
- According to Nielsen Media Research, released on Monday (December 15), Fox News averaged 2.72 million primetime viewers and 287,000 viewers in the key Adults 25-54 demo in 2025. This was up 14 per cent in total viewers and 18
- In comparison, MSNBC (now MS NOW) averaged 923,000 total viewers (down 25 per cent on 2024) and 81,000 demo viewers (down 39 per cent),
- and CNN averaged 580,000 total viewers (down 15 per cent) and 105,000 demo viewers (down 29 per cent).
The story was the same in total day viewership:
- Fox News leading with 1.7 million viewers (up 18 per cent on 2024) and 185,000 demo viewers (down 1 per cent).
- CNN averaged 436,000 viewers (down 9 per cent) and 71,000 demo viewers (down 22 per cent),
- while MS NOW averaged 552,000 viewers (down 30 per cent) and 49,000 demo viewers (down 42 per cent).
Don’t punish yourself. Give up on CNN and MS Now Now.
