As it forges a new identity outside of NBCUniversal, the left-leaning cable stalwart MS NOW is betting on membership as a major revenue driver.
The channel’s chief, Rebecca Kutler, unveiled what she described as “the first step in a long-term strategy to deepen our relationship with audiences,” namely a $7.99 per month or $79.99 annual subscription to the outlet.
The offering will include “exclusive community features to engage with each other, a new roster of contributors and experts, original creator content, new verticals that explore how news and politics impact everyday life, and 24/7 access to live streams and television programming.”
The move has long been signaled at MS NOW, which has been trying to diversify its revenue away from cable carriage fees alone and branching out to more live events, podcast offerings and direct-to-consumer avenues to tap in to its loyal audience of Democrat and progressive-minded viewers. As part of its scaled up event slate, the channel is going into Red State territory with a “MS NOW Live: Together In Texas” event on Sept. 26, featuring a roster of its stars including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Jen Psaki, Stephanie Ruhle, Ali Velshi and Chris Hayes.
The channel says its typical viewer watches 9 hours of its programming per week and, while viewers of the linear offering may skew older, MS NOW points out that its digital audience and TV watching base have “less than 10 percent” overlap, per figures from data giant Comscore.
Traditional cable rivals like Fox News and CNN also have dipped their toes into the subscription space. The conservative-leaning Fox has its Fox Nation destination for its fans at a $8.99 monthly fee while CNN offers its subscription tier at $6.99 a month.
The direct-to-consumer strategy has been a priority for Versant CEO Mark Lazarus, who has championed the direction for both MS NOW and sibling business network CNBC, while making clear that the offering is about more than just streaming.
“MS NOW and CNBC are very strong brands with highly engaged audiences,” Lazarus told analysts on an earnings call Aug. 6. “We are creating direct-to-consumer products, not streaming products, because it is much broader than just streaming what we do on television. It is about serving those engaged audiences with content that is not just replicative of what we do on television.”