(Reuters) -Cable news network MSNBC will change its name and drop the iconic peacock logo as parent Comcast presses ahead with the planned separation of many NBCUniversal cable networks later this year.

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.

Cable news channel MSNBC will rebrand as My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW, according to internal memos seen by Reuters today, as parent Comcast presses ahead with the planned separation of many NBCUniversal cable networks later this year.