Largely due to the trend of cord cutting, NBC is splitting off MS NOW, CNBC, the Golf Channel, and several other cable TV networks into a new company called Versant. Other networks include USA Network, E!, Oxygen, and SYFY. The new company will also own Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes.

MSNBC is rebranding and changing its name amid its exit from NBCUniversal. In a company-wide memo on Aug. 18, Versant CEO Mark Lazarus revealed it will now be called MS NOW.

The name change came as a surprise to many, even those within the network who had previously been told that the MSNBC name would continue. Versant’s CEO Mark Lazarus told The Wall Street Journal that the rebranding, which will also erase NBC’s peacock from the properties being spun off, would help prevent “brand confusion.”

And the new MS moniker could also cause some confusion with an emerging digital product tied to NBC News. NBC News Now is an ad-supported streaming service that has gradually expanded its hours and features shows led not only by “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas, but also Hallie Jackson and Gadi Schwartz.

Television’s MSNBC news network is changing its name to My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW for short, as part of its corporate divorce from NBC. The network, which appeals to liberal audiences with a stable of personalities including Rachel Maddow, Ari Melber and Nicolle Wallace, has been building its own separate news division from NBC News.

MSNBC is rebranding to "MS NOW" and is getting a new logo. Employees are chattering about what the rebrand signals for the cable TV network's future.

The change marks the end of a partnership that began in 1996, with the network joining CNBC and other channels under the new VERSANT umbrella.

The Versant split means that journalists and executives that have previously worked for both networks now have to choose one.