The change, announced on Monday, comes as MSNBC has been building its own news division, as NBC News will no longer be a sister outlet following the spinoff. MSNBC and other Comcast cable networks will be part of a separate company, Versant, led by Mark Lazarus.

MSNBC is being renamed after parent company Comcast spins the cable news channel off into a separate corporate entity later this year. The left-leaning channel will be known as MS NOW once it becomes part of Versant, a new company, and is no longer associated with NBC News, staffers were told Monday.

Comcast has announced that 100 small businesses in King County, including about 30 on the Eastside, are receiving Comcast RISE grant packages designed to help them grow, innovate, and strengthen the communities they serve.

Comcast has announced a boost for Seattle’s small business community, awarding more than 50 entrepreneurs with new Comcast RISE grant packages designed to help them grow, innovate and strengthen the Seattle community.

American cable news channel MSNBC is rebranding as MS NOW, which stands for My Source News Opinion World. The announcement was made public on August 18 on the news channel's social media with the statement:

Today, Comcast announced the award of 500 new grant packages to entrepreneurs in five U.S. regions through Comcast RISE, an initiative that fuels the growth of American small businesses and helps to strengthen local communities.

Comcast unveiled eight new members of the first board of directors of Versant Media Group, which will house the bulk of NBCUniversal’s cable networks and certain digital businesses, including Versant CEO Mark Lazarus.

MSNBC will change its name later this year to MS Now (My Source News Opinion World) and drop the peacock image from its branding. These are the first significant public-facing changes in Versant's upcoming separation from Comcast's NBCUniversal.