X owner and Donald Trump ally Elon Musk has shown interest in potentially acquiring the left-leaning cable news channel MSNBC amid rumors that its parent company, Comcast, is considering a sale due to plummeting ratings.
On Wednesday, Comcast announced that it would spin off a number of its companies into a separate media holding comprising USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, and several other networks, which will be dubbed SpinCo. While the company portrayed the move as positive, saying the holding would be well-capitalized, “ideally positioned for success and highly attractive to investors,” media reports painted a different picture.
The New York Post reported, citing an MSNBC insider, that the network’s staff is in “panic because everything is up in the air” as executives are reportedly considering changing the network’s name, logo, and even its headquarters.
This week’s Nielsen ratings show MSNBC’s daily viewership having plummeted by 38% after Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential election. CNN also lost viewers, with a drop of 27% compared to pre-election numbers, according to Nielsen.
Commenting on the rumors surrounding MSNBC, Donald Trump Jr. tagged Musk on X while posting a picture of the MSNBC logo and the inscription “For Sale, Best Offer,” saying he had just had “the funniest idea ever.” The tycoon responded by wondering: “How much does it cost?”
While it is unclear how much MSNBC’s assets are worth, the current market capitalization of the entire Comcast Corporation is $166 billion. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has a net worth estimated at around $314 billion. In October 2022, he purchased Twitter, now known as X, for $44 billion.
Podcaster and Trump supporter Joe Rogan also weighed in, telling Musk that he would like to replace MSNBC anchor Rachael Maddow if he goes through with the acquisition. “I will wear the same outfit and glasses, and I will tell the same lies,” he jokingly promised, to which the billionaire replied: “Deal.”