NBC’s Decision to Sell Off MSNBC Has Staff ‘Terrified’ For Their Futures: ‘The Panic is Real’

The sell-off of MSNBC by parent company NBC has left staffers in a widespread panic, with insiders saying the newsgroup’s freaked workforce fears they’re on a sinking ship.

“People are terrified that without NBC behind it, this whole venture will be a flop,” says one insider. “People aren’t just worried about their jobs — they’re convinced the whole network will collapse.”

The downward-spiraling news org — home to Rachel Maddow, Mika and Joe and former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki — was sold off by NBC News after a year of falling ratings and the layoff of overpaid, underperforming talent.

Now it is forced to move forward without the resources and deep pockets of NBC News to keep it afloat.

“People feel like they’re going to work on the Titanic,” a source says. “The feeling is NBC believed the unrelenting woke chatter and political bias was weighing down the credibility of a legitimate news operation — and cut it loose before it took it down with it.”

The sell-off comes with a forced rebranding — wiping the NBC call letters from the left-leaning network and creating a clear distance between the two distinct news operations.

When MSNBC joins its new parent company called Versant, along with USA Network, Syfy, CNBC and the Golf Channel, it will become MS NOW — despite network president Mark Lazarus’ claims earlier this year that the name would not change.

“It’s clear, NBC wants no further association with it,” said one MSNBC insider.

And sources say NBC has good reason to keep its distance.

Earlier this year, MSNBC saw a 27 percent drop in primetime viewers and a whopping 40 percent fall in viewers in the coveted 25- to 54-year-old demographic, per Deadline.

And as previously reported, except for Maddow, the network’s stable of on-air hosts aren’t attracting viewers.

When Psaki took over Maddow’s 9 p.m. slot Tuesday through Thursday in July, she reportedly lost nearly half her viewers.

In the second quarter of 2025, MSNBC drew an average of just 1.008 million primetime viewers — a 15 percent drop.

In February, the network also dumped Joy Reid, who reportedly pulled down $3 million but saw her show The ReidOut lose half her audience following Donald Trump’s election in November.

One staffer, who admits résumés are flying out the door to find a safe landing place, says: “The panic is real.”