MSNBC to become MS NOW after split into Versant

MSNBC will change its name to MS NOW on Nov. 15, formally adopting the acronym My Source for News, Opinion, and the World as part of a corporate split that moved the channel into a new company called Versant. The rebrand will replace the channel’s previous NBC-associated peacock logo with a red, white and blue banner-style design and will roll out alongside a national marketing campaign and new production facilities in New York City.

The network previewed three new studios located at Versant’s Times Square headquarters, including a virtual reality studio, which officials said were designed and completed for broadcast in roughly three months. The production operation includes two control rooms, a dedicated podcast studio and technical capacity to support more than 120 hours of live programming. Network materials list more than 300 light fixtures and some 1,782 square feet of LED; the virtual reality space incorporates a custom 1.6 millimeter LED video wall capable of 240 hertz operation and said to contain more than 60 million pixels. Camera tracking within that studio will allow real-time shifts in content perspective tied to camera movement and zoom. Network representatives...