On Wednesday, NBC News began cutting 7%, or about 150 of its roughly 2,000-person staff, as it gears up to operate independently of its cable brethren, a person familiar with the matter said.
NBC News parent Comcast’s NBCUniversal is set to spin off several of its cable networks, including MSNBC and CNBC, into a new company, Versant. It’s the latest sign of cable’s ongoing decline as viewing behavior shifts to streaming. NBC News attributed the cuts to a tough business climate and the spinoff, saying certain roles that provided support to those cable outlets would no longer be needed.
While it cuts staff, NBC News is also hiring, with 140 open roles across the organization that it is encouraging laid-off workers to apply for.
The separation of the news channels will end an entwined but sometimes fraught relationship between the outlets. NBC News shared resources with MSNBC and leaned on CNBC’s reporting. MSNBC’s leftward tilt has sometimes complicated matters for straight-news NBC News and local NBC stations.
Going forward, NBC News and MSNBC will continue to cover the same news events, but MSNBC will need to figure out how to do so without relying on NBC News’ resources. MSNBC will also have to reestablish itself with viewers as it adopts a new name, MS NOW, and loses the NBC peacock from its logo.
Both NBC News and MSNBC are exploring streaming services. NBC News is further along, with plans to launch a new subscription service later this year that’ll feature select news coverage and new premium content. It’s also expanding its sports coverage and plans to launch a marketing campaign to reinforce itself as rigorous and fact-based, NBCUniversal News Group chair Cesar Conde has said.
Some at NBC News have wondered how the spin will affect newsgathering efforts, as the network and CNBC both use each other’s reporting. NBC News has recently been leaning on local news, a rare part of the media landscape that has been an exception to the declining audience trust in news. Since 2023, NBC News has been collaborating more closely with its over 200 affiliates to team up on big breaking stories and have local and national desks cross-promote each other.
This is the network’s second round of cuts this year. NBC News in January cut about 40 roles, or 2% to 3% of the company. The company was also hiring in other areas at the time, including about a dozen in digital.
Here’s the memo Conde sent to staff about the new cuts:
Today is a hard day. We have had to make some difficult decisions, including the elimination of positions across NBC News. While these decisions are necessary to remain strong as an industry leader, they are not easy and are never taken lightly. We have sought to minimize the number of affected team members, and our teams’ decisions should not be seen as a reflection on our colleagues who will be leaving. We will miss them and their valuable contributions.
Today is a day to be supportive of each other, as we always have been, through good times and challenging times. Through our culture of collaboration, the strength of our journalism, and the dedication of our team members, we will move forward together. Thank you for your commitment to our colleagues and our organization.
Take care,
Cesar Conde
