NBC Buys Majority Stake in MSNBC

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NBC Universal bought a controlling interest in MSNBC under a restructuring of the struggling 24-hour cable news channel, the companies announced Friday.


Financial terms were not disclosed.


Under the new arrangement, NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co., will acquire an 82 percent stake in the cable news network, with an option to buy Microsoft’s remaining 18 percent share within two years.


The Web site, MSNBC.com, will continue to be operated as a joint venture, with each company owning 50 percent. The Web site streams online versions of NBC News shows.


“Acquiring a controlling interest in MSNBC will allow us to fully integrate the channel into our news operations and our overall cable platform,” said Steve Capus, president, NBC News, NBC Universal, in a statement.


The joint venture was first launched in 1996 with a $220 million investment from Microsoft for a 50 percent stake in the network.


However, MSNBC’s ratings have fallen steadily in recent years. Among cable news networks, MSNBC ranks a distant third. Fox News is No. 1 followed by Time Warner Inc.’s CNN in the Nielsen ratings.

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