MS NOW makes the case at NAB that cable news audiences want community, not just content

MS NOW, the network formerly known as MSNBC, arrived at the 2026 NAB Show with a story that cuts against the dominant narrative about cable news: that the medium is in terminal decline and the only path forward runs through streaming.

In a panel moderated by Lachlan Cartwright of Breaker at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Monday, the network’s Jen Psaki and Ari Melber, along with Marcus Mabry, the executive leading the network’s direct-to-consumer product, made the case that MS NOW’s linear foundation is not a liability to be managed but an asset to be built on.

“Our power on linear is the foundation for our future,” said Mabry, who pointed to the network’s viewership growth over two decades as evidence. In 2005, when cable reached roughly 60% of U.S. households, MSNBC drew 375,000 primetime viewers. In 2025, with cable penetration below 40%, MS NOW averaged 1.2 million. “That’s a really, really powerful linear foundation to start from,” Mabry said.

Not a streaming app

The network, which rebranded from MSNBC to MS NOW in November 2025 after separating from NBC News as part of Comcast’s Versant spinoff, is planning a direct-to-consumer product targeting a late summer 2026 launch. Mabry was deliberate about what it is not.

“Let me make it clear — we are not creating a streaming app,” he said. “We’re happy about that, because one of the things that makes us distinct versus other news brands is that audiences come to MS NOW for a certain take on the news to understand it.”

The product, which MS NOW president Rebecca Kutler described at a December investor day as a “membership community,” is designed around three elements: access to talent through live and virtual events, curated content for existing fans and moderated spaces for audience discussion. The network has held two mass-market live events under the MS NOW Live banner, in 2024 and again in October 2025 and frames the DTC product as the digital extension of that model.

“Now we’ll take that relationship with super fans and translate it into a digital platform where you can actually connect with our talent, ask them questions all the time,” Mabry said. “Make it a two-way relationship.”

‘Yes and’

Psaki, who hosts “The Briefing with Jen Psaki” on the network, described the approach to platform strategy using a framework she said came from her years working in political communications.

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“When I worked for Barack Obama, he was always going to keep giving speeches,” she said. “No good communications person would take away his speech giving, because that’s so powerful. So it was always a ‘yes and’ strategy — which is what we’re doing now too.”

Linear television, in her framing, is the “yes.”

The digital extensions, longer-form YouTube interviews, the “Psaki Bombs” reaction series, the forthcoming membership product, are the “and.” The combination, she said, is how the network reaches audiences that might not sit down to watch cable at a fixed hour.

Melber, who hosts “The Beat with Ari Melber” and has built a significant following on YouTube, offered a more stripped-down version of the same argument.

“People don’t watch the news,” he said. “People watch people. And that’s timeless.”

He said the network’s diversity of on-air voices creates a range of entry points for audiences, and that the shift to digital platforms has been a natural extension of that personality-driven model rather than a disruption to it.

A digital footprint that often goes unnoticed

The panel made clear that MS NOW’s digital scale is already substantial, even before the DTC launch.

The network recorded more than 3.8 billion YouTube views in 2025 and drew more views on the platform year-to-date than ABC News, CBS News and NBC News combined, according to figures provided by the company. Its website reaches more unique visitors than Politico, Axios and The Atlantic, and its audio portfolio — 20 original podcasts and 22 showcasts rivals outlets that have built their brands entirely around audio.

The network also recently added “Crooked on MS NOW,” a weekly Saturday night program featuring content from Crooked Media, the podcast company founded by former Obama administration officials. The company said that across its first four episodes, half of viewers were new to MS NOW on Saturday nights, with nearly two-thirds of viewers under 55 also new to the network.

Mabry described the DTC product as the first step in a longer digital build-out, and was expansive about where the network is looking for growth.

“We are obsessed with growth,” he said. “Authenticity is so important to who we are. We think that’s a strength and a competitive advantage.”

He added: “This inaugural DTC product is just our first step. We have a whole bunch of great digital products we have to build out.”

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