COMCAST, THE parent company of NBC, has bought out Microsoft's 50 per cent stake in MSNBC.comfor a reported $300 million to assume full control of the news website. The deal ends 16 years of a 50-50 joint venture between Microsoft and NBCUniversal, which is now majority-owned by Comcast.
"Today we're taking on a new name – NBCNews.com. While our name is changing, our commitment is not," Jennifer Sizemore, editor-in-chief of NBCNews.com, said in a letter on the company's website.
The New York Times reported on Sunday the transaction was valued at $300 million, a part of which comes from the joint venture’s past profits, citing people with knowledge of the deal.
NBC and Microsoft joined forces in 1996 to create a cable news channel and online news operation that melded broadcasting with then-emerging internet technology. At that time Microsoft invested $220 million for its 50 per cent stake in NBC.
In 2005 the companies terminated their partnership operating the MSNBC cable channel, and NBC was acquired by Comcast four years later. – (Reuters)
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