What’s in a name? On November 15, MSNBC will quickly find out.

The cable-news outlet, slated to be spun out of NBCUniversal in the next few months and become part of a new publicly traded company called Versant , will change its name to MS NOW in mid-November . The maneuver comes because NBCUniversal felt a news operation that was about to become a rival should not carry the “NBC” markings. MSNBC has for years shared newsgathering resources with NBC News, but will no longer do so.

The name change comes “after months of meticulous planning and thoughtful collaboration across every corner of our organization” said Rebecca Kutler , president of the network, in a memo to staff. “We are facing it head-on, and our success in the months and years ahead will depend on our innovation and

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