see nbc news . msnbc launched july 15 1996 1996 07 15 owned by nbcuniversal comcast picture format 1080i hdtv downgraded to letterboxed 480i for sdtv feed slogan the place for politics country united states language english broadcast area united states canada europe africa middle east headquarters 30 rockefeller plaza new york city replaced america s talking 1994 1996 sister channel s cnbc cnbc world nbc the weather channel nbcsn e esquire network golf channel usa network syfy bravo website www.msnbc.com availability terrestrial selective tv inc. alexandria mn k50db d channel 50.4 satellite directv us 1356 356 sd dish network us 209 bell tv canada 1588 hd shaw direct canada 511 cable available on most cable providers check local listings for channels satellite radio sirius xm 118 1 iptv at & t u verse centurylink us 1215 215 sd bell aliant tv canada 243 bell fibe tv canada 1506 google fiber us 103 telus tv canada 97 verizon fios us 603 103 sd vmedia canada 185 sd sling tv internet protocol television playstation vue internet protocol television msnbc is an american basic cable and satellite television network that provides news coverage and political commentary from nbc news on current events . the network also carries a nightly opinion programming block during prime time hours . it is owned by the nbcuniversal news group a unit of the nbcuniversal television group division of nbcuniversal all of which are owned by comcast . msnbc and msnbc.com were founded in 1996 as a partnership between microsoft and general electric s nbc unit hence the network s naming . 2 although they shared the same name msnbc.com and msnbc maintained separate corporate structures and news operations with msnbc.com headquartered on the west coast on the microsoft campus in redmond washington and msnbc in the nbc headquarters in new york . microsoft divested its stake in the msnbc channel in 2005 and divested its stake in msnbc.com in july 2012 rebranding the general news site as nbcnews.com and creating a new msnbc.com as the online home of the cable news channel . 3 as of february 2015 approximately 94 531 000 households 81.2 % of those with television receive msnbc within the united states of america . 4 in the late summer of 2015 msnbc revamped its programming . the moves were in sharp contrast to previous programming decisions at the network with the entire lineup of opinionated afternoon programming being cancelled . along with this moves were made to sharpen the channel s news image through a dual editorial relationship with its organizational parent nbc news . msnbc live the network s flagship daytime news platform was expanded to cover over eight hours of the day . 5 phil griffin currently serves as the president and director of day to day operations at the cable network . 6 pat burkey and janelle rodriguez oversee programming and news operations at the network with brian williams serving as the channel s chief anchor and managing editor of breaking news coverage . 7 contents 1 history 1.1 development 1.2 early history 1.3 2008 2015 1.4 return to hard news and go beyond campaign 2015 present 2 notable personalities 3 carriage issues 4 international broadcasts 4.1 msnbc canada 4.2 msnbc africa 4.3 middle east and north africa 4.4 europe and asia 4.5 ntv msnbc 5 online 5.1 shift 6 radio 7 criticism and controversy 7.1 liberal bias 7.2 favoritism towards barack obama 7.3 phil donahue dismissal 7.4 rise of the new right documentary 7.5 romney coverage during 2012 election 7.6 coverage of financial issues 7.7 romney family grandchild 7.8 anti israel bias 7.9 suspensions of hosts 7.9.1 michael savage 7.9.2 don imus 7.9.3 keith olbermann 7.9.4 martin bashir 7.9.5 alec baldwin 8 references 9 sources 10 external links history edit development edit msnbc was established by nbc executive tom rogers . rogers was instrumental in developing the strategic partnership with microsoft which invested 221 million for a 50 % share of the cable channel . 8 msnbc and microsoft would share the cost of a 200 million newsroom in secaucus new jersey for msnbc.com . the network took over the channel space of nbc s 18 month old america s talking network though in most cases cable carriage had to be negotiated with providers who never carried at . early history edit former msnbc logo used from 1996 until 2009 . the n in the logo was changed from red to black in 2002 . this variant has occasionally been used after 2006 as an alternative logo in a horizontal form . main article history of msnbc 1996 2007 msnbc was launched on july 15 1996 . the first show which was anchored by jodi applegate broadcast a lineup of news interviews and opinions . 9 during the day rolling news coverage continued with the contributors a show that featured ann coulter and laura ingraham as well as interactive programming coordinated by applegate john gibson and john seigenthaler . stories were generally longer and more detailed than the stories running on cnn at the time . nbc also highlighted their broadcast connections by airing stories direct from the nbc network affiliates along with breaking news coverage from the same sources . 10 gradually msnbc began to put more emphasis on politics . 11 the project for excellence in journalism found in 2007 after a seven year survey of cable channels that msnbc is moving to make politics a brand with a large dose of opinion and personality . 12 in january 2001 mike barnicle got a show on msnbc but it was canceled in june 2001 due to high production costs . 13 in june in a sign of continuing trouble at msnbc microsoft ceo steve ballmer said that he would not have started msnbc if he knew then what he knows now referencing the longstanding troubles attracting viewers . 14 after the september 11 2001 attacks msnbc served as an outlet for nbc news to provide up to the minute coverage in contrast to broadcast nbc s longer stories . cnbc and cnbc europe with little financial news to report ran msnbc for many hours of the day following the attacks . the year also boosted the profile of ashleigh banfield who was present during the collapse of building 7 while covering the world trade center on september 11 . her region in conflict program capitalized on her newfound celebrity and showcased exclusive interviews from afghanistan . on december 23 2005 it was announced that nbc universal would acquire an additional 32 % share of the television channel from microsoft solidifying its control over television operations and allowing nbc to further consolidate msnbc s backroom operations with nbc news and its other cable properties . the news website msnbc.com remained a separate joint venture between microsoft and nbc for another seven years . nbc would have the option which it exercised to buy the remaining 18 % share of the television from microsoft after two years . msnbc along with other u.s. news networks had been criticized for having a distorted and biased media coverage of the iraq war . citation needed the network began from 2005 onward to attract liberal and progressive viewers when host keith olbermann began critiquing and satirizing conservative media commentators on his program countdown with keith olbermann . olbermann especially focused his attention to fox news channel and its main primetime commentator bill o reilly . on june 7 2006 rick kaplan resigned as president of msnbc after holding the post for two years . 15 following the announcement it was announced on june 12 2006 that dan abrams a nine year veteran of msnbc and nbc news had been named general manager of msnbc effective immediately . nbc news senior vice president phil griffin would oversee msnbc while also continuing to oversee nbc news today and abrams would report to griffin . on june 29 2006 abrams announced a revamp to msnbc s early primetime and primetime schedule . on july 10 tucker formerly the situation with tucker carlson started airing at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. et taking over abrams old timeslot while rita cosby s live & direct was taken off the schedule . cosby was instead given the role of primary anchor for msnbc investigates at 10 and 11 p.m. et a new program that took over cosby and carlson s timeslots . according to the press release msnbc investigates promised to ... complement msnbc s existing programming by building on the channel s library of award winning documentaries . 16 the move to taped programming during 10 and 11 p.m. was likely a result of the success that msnbc saw with their friday experiment of replacing all primetime programming with taped specials . on september 24 2007 abrams announced that he would leave the position of general manager to focus on his 9 00 p.m. et talk show live with dan abrams . oversight of msnbc is now provided by phil griffin a senior vice president at nbc . 17 msnbc s former studio in nyc the former msnbc studio msnbc and nbc news began broadcasting from their new studios at nbc s 30 rockefeller center complex in new york city on october 22 2007 . 18 after extensive renovations of the associated studios nbc essentially merged its entire news operation into one building and all msnbc broadcasts as well as nbc nightly news originate from the new studios . more than 12.5 hours of live television across the nbc news family originate from the new york studios daily . msnbc is also announced new studios near the universal studios lot . msnbc s master control did not make the move to 30 rock . it remained in the old secaucus headquarters until it completed its move to the nbc universal network origination center located inside the cnbc global headquarters building in englewood cliffs new jersey on december 21 2007 . shortly thereafter major league baseball firmed up a long term lease of the former msnbc building to become the home studios of mlb network which launched from the facility on january 1 2009 . 2008 2015 edit msnbc logo used from 2009 to 2015 ; the current logo is a variant of this design . main article history of msnbc 2008 2015 from mid 2007 to mid 2008 msnbc received a large increase in its ratings . 19 primetime viewings increased by 61 % over that time . 19 in may 2008 nbc news president steve capus said that it used to be people didn t have to worry about msnbc because it was an also ran cable channel ... . that s not the case anymore . 19 tim russert s sudden death in june 2008 removed what the wall street journal called the rudder for the network and led to a period of transition . 20 during the 2008 presidential election msnbc s coverage was anchored by keith olbermann chris matthews and david gregory . the three were widely viewed as the face of the channel s political coverage . 20 during the first three months of the presidential campaign msnbc s ratings grew by 158 percent . 21 however during the election coverage anchors keith olbermann and chris matthews were criticized for expressing left leaning viewpoints on the channel and both of them were later removed from the position of anchor . 22 audience viewership during the 2008 presidential election more than doubled from the 2004 presidential election and the channel topped cnn in ratings for the first time during the last three months of the campaign in the key 25 54 age demographic . 23 24 in september 2008 the channel hired political analyst and air america radio personality rachel maddow to host a new political opinion program called the rachel maddow show . the move to create a new program for the channel was widely seen as a smart ratings move