MS NOW to Launch Direct-to-Consumer Offering Next Summer

[highplainsdem]

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Fear not, MS NOW super-fans: A direct-to-consumer platform is coming soon.

Versant, MS NOW’s parent company, says that it is planning to launch the new DTC offering next summer. Details remain scarce, but the company says that it will be “centered around community, membership, and democracy and as a digital hub for progressives,” rather than a traditional streaming platform.

Versant says that it is still in the research phase of the product, but that it is pouring “significant investment” into it. In a meeting with reporters last month, MS NOW president Rebecca Kutler underscored that Versant is giving her brand more freedom to pursue digital business lines, and are encouraging experimentation and a flatter corporate culture, including work on a DTC offering.

MS NOW says that since its rebrand, its ratings have seen a 25 percent increase in primetime viewership compared to October norms, though election day, which was very good for Democrats and progressives, certainly played a role in that.

-snip-




Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/ms-now-streaming-service-summer-2026-1236442438/

[moreland01]

1. Everyone's gotta get in on the game.

Target audience? Older folks.

[BComplex]

2. So would somebody PLEASE get Joy Reid back on there??????

She never should have left.

[mopinko]

3. it wont go anywhere if they dont make moves like that.

if they dont bring in ppl who nbc thought were too loud, it’ll just be more hours of the same shit.

[BComplex]

8. True that!

I hope the new MS Now management gets with the new more progressive, holistic vibe that the younger leaders are bringing in, too.

[BComplex]

17. Until they put Kyle Kulinzki is on national tv, the true message is never going to get out.

He's the BEST news on the internet. "Secular talk" (the name of his YouTube site) is straight talk. The TRUTH on the internet.

[progressoid]

4. I might consider it if it was more than just talking heads regurgitating the same six or seven stories all day long.

It would be nice to have actual news and actual reporters rather than panels of "experts" blather on and on about (insert latest Trump lie here).

[Bluetus]

11. I could live with the regurgitation factor if ...

that would simply say the obvious stuff out loud. The Comcast family still owns just as much of MSNOW as they did of MSNBC because it was a simple stock swap transaction. I don't give a F about their distribution methods if what they are distributing is the same corporate-filtered crap we have been getting for years, placed inside a pretty wrapper to make it look like it is progressive.

Now, if they will actually have the editorial freedom to speak the truth and not have to wrap everything in both-siderism and euphemisms, then I'd say a direct-to-consumer model may have good merit. It all begs the question of what good the cable networks are today, other than to provide Internet service.

I already give the Comcast family way too much money each month and I really should be cutting the cable. So they SHOULD be thinking about ways to serve the progressive-minded MAJORITY in this country. Surely the Comcast family has more money than they could ever spend now. They don't need to force their product to tow the corporate line. They have a chance to do a good thing for this country.

[PatSeg]

16. The "panels of experts"

have gotten awfully tedious. The best part of most of the programs is the opening segment, but after that, they bring on the "experts" or other journalists who basically regurgitate the same stories in their own words for the remainder of show.

There are times when additional information and insight can be helpful, but much of the time it is just space-fillers. I would prefer more news and less redundant opinions. I often watch just the opening segment and fast-forward through the rest.

[Qutzupalotl]

5. "membership"

So we’ll have to pay for what we currently get for free? Color me unenthused.

[LiberalArkie]

7. There are a lot of people who do not have cable or satellite service

[Qutzupalotl]

10. Fair point, thanks.

[iluvtennis]

6. I already pay for cable TV...won't be paying for this DTC offering. I'll stick with MSNOW that's on cable. n/t

[txwhitedove]

9. Finally! I use Firestick, Netflix and for

awhile Sling just to access MSNBC. To save money, ditched Sling for LiveNewsPro. I'll gladly pay for MS Now alone. They are NOT like the other news stations and presume would benefit us all by going independent. Yay!

[Blue Dotty]

13. 💯

Been saying that since we dropped cable. The minute that happens, Sling is gone for us. We only get Sling for that one station.

[ToxMarz]

12. "MS NOW says that since its rebrand, its ratings have seen a 25 percent increase"..?

"MS NOW says that since its rebrand, its ratings have seen a 25 percent increase in primetime viewership compared to October norms, though election day, which was very good for Democrats and progressives, certainly played a role in that."

MSNBC launched its rebrand as MS NOW on November 15, 2025, barely 3 weeks ago. And there was no October in that time period.

What are they talking about?!

[eppur_se_muova]

14. About time ! MSNBC has been almost the only reason we kept cable for a long time now.

We recently dropped WOW! cable just because it had gotten so outrageously expensive. I've been trying to get *reliable* access to streaming video of MSNOW and having very temporary successes, followed by the same old error messages.

Peacock won't carry Rachel Maddow, but only some MSNBC shows -- some available only after delay ?? I had been thinking of trying Peacock but finally decided it was more trash than treasure.

[Deminpenn]

15. Jmho, but MSNOW has been

better since being separated from NBC. To me, it's definitely taken more of a turn to the left.

FYI, MSNOW is also carried on SiriusXM and the SiriusXM app that comes with your subscription.

[CaptainTruth]

18. I'm getting old, I thought MS stood for Microsoft.

MS Word, MS Excel, MS Now

[iemanja]

19. How much will they charge?

It won’t be free.