Microsoft Pulls Out of MSNBC

Microsoft has cut its last ties with MSNBC, dissolving its affiliation with the brand’s website.

The breakup, announced Sunday night, comes after a 16-year partnership between the company and NBC. The latter is buying back its 50% share of the site for an undisclosed sum, according to numerous reports. The website will now move its headquarters from Redmond, Wash., to New York.

The move, which was reported earlier by Adweek and The Daily Beat, among others, comes after unnamed NBC executives cited in the reports have complained about the dissonance between the left-leaning MSNBC TV network and the MSNBC website. The latter attempts a more middle-of-the-road approach and aggregates content from other news outlets. About two years ago, there was a plan to rebrand the website to alleviate the confusion, according to The Daily Beast.

Microsoft and NBC formed the partnership in 1996. NBC bought back its share of MSNBC’s TV operations in 2005, but the two have remained equal owners of the website, which is among the most-visited in the U.S. Though it doesn’t break out MSNBC.com’s figures, comScore in May recorded 170.4 million unique visitors for the month for “Microsoft Media Network,” making it the number 10 web property in the U.S.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, PeterPhoto

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