‘Indecision 2025’: What branding is being used by MSNBC, NBC?

With the final step in MSNBC’s split from NBC News slated for the ides of November, one decision that isn’t quite clear year is who’s getting custody of the networks’ classic “Decision” election branding.

While NBC and the soon-to-be MS NOW haven’t given official word on the future of their branding strategies, some recent hints have emerged that may provide some clues.

When NBC News announced its NBC News Now-centric coverage plans for the 2025 election Nov. 4, 2025, the announcement made no use of the “Decision 2025” branding that both NBC News and MSNBC have almost exclusively used going back to at least the late 1990s. 

Instead, the announcement included a graphic with a banner that simply reads “Election Night.” It does, however, retain the stars-and-stripes motif of the “Decision” look, so it’s not clear if the absence of the broader election branding is purposeful. 

MSNBC, which becomes MS NOW Nov. 15, 2025, meanwhile, appears to be holding on to the “Decision 2025” branding. 

The network has been prominently using graphics with the “Decision 2025” look over the past few days. It’s also been included in on-air anchor teases of coverage planned for election night.

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MSNBC is also continuing to use the distinctive star-and-stripe elements. 

Both networks are also continuing to use similar background elements, including the white and light gray stars and darker warehouse-like look. 

Based on this admittedly anecdotal evidence, these indications could be a sign that NBC will drop the “Decision (Year)” branding moving forward with MS NOW retaining it. 

When Versant revealed its logo design for MS NOW earlier this year, the lockup featured a waving striped icon, which has certain visual similarities to the current Decision look as well.

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However, it’s also possible that, given the timing of this year’s election coming just under two weeks before the brand update, the networks opted to differentiate their coverage by using this strategy. 

That could make a certain amount of sense. NBC appears to be planning to keep its coverage largely on streaming, while MSNBC will carry it on its linear feed. Although the network has been marketing its impending name change, it’s possible MSNBC opted to keep the “Decision” branding around, at least for this year, to avoid imposing too much change at once. 

It’s also worth noting that, while there are some pivotal races and issues this year, odd-numbered election years also tend to garner less attention overall, so this all could simply be a result of NBC opting to go with a different approach this time out.

That said, 2026 is already shaping up to be a big deal, so it’s likely both networks will need to create a solid branding plan for then.