A separate company, msnbc.com, is the news website for the NBC News family, featuring original stories and video as well as content from NBC News and partners such as The New York Times, Newsweek and The Washington Post. Two partnerships with the name MSNBC were founded in 1996 by Microsoft and General Electric’s NBC unit, which is now NBC Universal. Although Microsoft and NBC shared operations of MSNBC cable at its founding, it was announced on December 23, 2005, that NBC Universal would purchase a majority stake in the television network, which left Microsoft with 18%. The two companies remain 50-50 partners in msnbc.com. MSNBC, like sister channel CNBC, shares the NBC logo of a rainbow peacock. Critics and some observers of the network say that MSNBC has become increasingly politically liberal compared to other networks, particularly in its prime-time lineup. |
