One of the longest online relationships has come to an end with NBC and Microsoft announcing that their 16 year partnership is now over. The announcement came in the form of a post on NBCnews.com, that ironically redirects to an msnbc.msn.com URL slug but the relationship is now over.
NBC will be taking full control from this point forward but financial details were not discussed. For the time being, MSNBC.com will reflect NBCnews.com The source states:
In the short term, msnbc.com will reflect the homepage of NBCNews.com. Eventually, it will become the address of MSNBC TV, giving MSNBC TV its own dedicated address and ending an arrangement under which the news site shared the MSNBC name with an increasingly commentary-driven channel.
Rumors had circulated the web some time ago that Microsoft was looking to divest of this entity as the site was no longer a core competency of the company. Naturally, seeing as NBC was the other shareholder on the site, it makes perfect sense for them to buy out Microsoft"s side of the equation. Microsoft and NBC previously had worked together on a cable television channel, also called MSNBC, but that partnership ended a few years ago.
The transition will take two years to materialize as the ties are deep within website, so do not expect an overnight split. Additionally, Microsoft will continue to provide the advertisements on the website and NBC will also provide content for MSN.com, for now.
Source: NBCnews