• May 25, 2012

NBCUniversal is in talks with joint venture partner Microsoft about acquiring its 50% share in MSNBC.com, the Web site that was launched in 1996 along with the MSNBC cable TV network, reports Adweek magazine. A subsequent report in The Wall Street Journal quoted an NBC News spokeswoman confirming that the discussions were taking place. NBC previously acquired Microsoft’s equity in the MSNBC cable TV network. The joint venture was created following a chance meeting between Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw as a model for integrated TV and online news coverage, but the network and Web site have increasingly been programmed independent of each other.