Comcast’s broadcast subsidiary NBC Universal announced on Thursday the relaunch of the political news stream “The Choice” on its streaming service Peacock.
The channel will now carry the MSNBC branding and a slate of new programs franchised from the politically-focused cable news network, the company said in a statement.
The announcement was made on the 25th anniversary of MSNBC, which launched on cable and satellite platforms on July 15, 1996.
“I’m so proud that today, on MSNBC’s 25th anniversary, we are expanding our footprint and investing in even more robust streaming programming on Peacock,” Rashida Jones, the news network’s president, said in a statement. “As we look to the future, we will continue to be on the front lines of every major news event and bring our viewers in-depth reporting, perspective, and analysis across streaming, digital, and beyond.”
Despite being wholly-owned by NBC Universal, MSNBC has not had a large presence on Peacock until today. The network and its programming have been mostly relegated to traditional and cable satellite systems, which have seen a decline in customers as more households ditch expensive pay TV packages for cheaper streaming options.
The majority of MSNBC’s news programming — including its flagship morning show “Morning Joe,” a daily version of “Meet the Press” and its evening news magazine show “The Rachel Maddow Show” — will continue to air exclusively on the cable network. But a new program, called “MSNBC Perspectives,” will offer contextual analysis of news clips from MSNBC’s daily programming and will stream on the newly-named “The Choice from MSNBC” channel on Peacock.
Peacock will also launch “Morning Mika,” a commentary program hosted by Morning Joe personality Mika Brzezinski, later this year.
Peacock’s linear streams are free to view to all Peacock customers, whether they pay for the service or not. The streamer is available across all major streaming TV platforms, including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV (Google TV) and Roku.
