MS/NBC: Notes & Quotes

> 12:42pm: NBC “will wind up with an 82 percent stake in the cable news network,” the AP says. “For Microsoft, the move to exit the cable network marks the latest pullback from the traditional media business following its sale of the on-line opinion journal Slate to the Washington Post Co. a year ago.”

> 12:13pm: The NYT has some backstory: “The deal comes after nearly a year of negotiations to undo the partnership, in which each side was increasingly frustrated with the other. Within NBC, executives complained that they did not have enough control of the network’s budget to hire the right talent and market its programs.“

> 12:10pm: This move could clear the way for MSNBC to be renamed the NBC News Channel. It’s an opportunity that has several benefits and drawbacks, NBC execs say privately. It would give the network a fresh start — perhaps on its 10th birthday — but could dilute the connection between the network and the Web site…

> 12:08pm: “Why was this dumped on the Friday morning before Christmas?,” an e-mailer asks…

> 12:05pm: MSNBC.com: Under the deal, MSNBC.com retains online rights to NBC News content, including video from the Today show, Nightly News and CNBC television and MSNBC cable, he said.

> 12:04pm: “It’s business as usual” for MSNBC.com, GM Charlie Tillinghast tells MSNBC.com. “In case anyone wondered whether one or both partners were fully committed to the venture, the fact that this agreement has been reaffirmed should dispel any of those perceptions.”

> 12:00pm: Variety: “After hundreds of millions in loses, Microsoft sold a controlling stake in 24-hour cable news channel MSNBC to NBC Universal in a deal that would allow it to completely buy out Microsoft within two years.”