Even Microsoft Has Bailed

It's the low budget cable news station that everyone likes to mock, and a rather popular portal for news content online.

It's the polar opposite of Fox News, in political spin and ratings.

And now, it's not part of Microsoft any more.

MSNBC has lost the MS and become, for now, plain old NBC News.

Comcast, which owns NBC, will buy Microsoft's share for $300 million, according to reports, and leave the computer software pioneer behind. It was a fairly long relationship, going on 16 years, but the online news industry has changed over that time period. Everyone has a site, every newspaper and every local station and if you want it organized for easier viewing there are countless compilation sites.

Microsoft wanted some of that sort of variety, and it became an issue.

Microsoft was not happy to be locked in to NBC's content, but the marriage did not allow for outside interests to have a place on the website. Over the years, NBC gradually shifted into a position as the anti-Fox News, which made for an increasingly liberal bias that did not sit well with the less than left-wing corporate types in Redmond, Washington.

Corporations don't want to be seen as having any political leanings at all, because that's the easiest way to lose half the clients. Being tied to a website that was seen as far left became a detriment, rather than a positive way to market Microsoft and keep its name out in front of the public.

The fact that Microsoft plans to launch its own web portal is a strong indication that the firm wants to have a presence, just not one tied in to any particular leanings.

NBC says they are happy to be quit of Microsoft because they can now tie in with all their affiliates, which was an issue when Microsoft was on board. At the same time, Microsoft is sounding confident about their new site which will have the variety of content the firm wanted all along.

Who will win and who will lose?

There's the gamble that is the free market.

Meanwhile, Rupert Murdoch's little news empire keeps on keeping on, sailing along at the top of the television news ratings heap. Making money. Which is what it's all about, isn't it.