Financial news channel CNBC took another major step toward independence from former parent company Comcast this weekend, unveiling changes that underscore its new identity.
The network is now part of Versant, a spin-off company with a portfolio of channels that will complete its separation from Comcast in the coming weeks. The split, first announced in November 2024, has seen CNBC gradually cut ties with NBC throughout the year.
Earlier this year, the channel dropped NBC News programming from its schedule and has now retired the iconic NBC Peacock logo, closing a chapter on nearly three decades of shared branding.
CNBC’s global reach makes the rebrand particularly visible to UK audiences, where the channel remains a prominent source of business and financial news. Other networks folded into Versant include SyFy and E!, though both have long since disappeared from UK screens. SyFy, for example, was replaced by Sky Sci-Fi in 2022.
Comcast’s decision to spin off these networks reflects the challenges facing traditional US cable channels, which have struggled with slower growth in an era dominated by streaming platforms and online editorial content. By establishing Versant as a standalone company, Comcast aims to streamline its portfolio while giving CNBC and its sister networks greater flexibility to define their futures.
What’s new on-screen?
The new CNBC logo, introduced 13 December, features a triangle integrated into the letter “N”, which CNBC describes as an arrow. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice the arrow echos the up-and-down indicators used in its on-air graphics for stock performance. The typography, based on the Gotham font, ensures consistency with CNBC’s established visual style.
According to CNBC, the rebrand is intended to symbolize “the exciting new chapter [it’s] headed into” and reinforce CNBC’s position as a “global leader in financial news”, rather than a mandatory enforced rebrand because it’s using a logo it can no longer use.
The full separation of parent company Versant is due to complete on Friday 2 January 2026. Sister network MSNBC was already stripped of the peacock in August when it became MS NOW.
CNBC has broadly retained all other aspects of its graphics package, which had only recently been refreshed.
What about the name?
CNBC originally started life as the Consumer News and Business Channel. On that basis, the name’s not changing.
What else has changed?
The first stage of separation came earlier this year, when a new schedule cleared out NBC programmes from CNBC’s Europe feed.
Ever since CNBC’s launch as a standalone 24/7 TV channel in Europe in March 1996, viewers were able to watch NBC Nightly News, Meet The Press and a selection of NBC late night shows. After nearly three decades, only a weekend outing for Late Night with Seth Meyers remains on the channel for now.
UK viewers can still access some NBC News content via the NBC News website or the NBC News Now streaming channel.
The split has also had an impact on NBC. NBC News Now, which previously fell back on MSNBC for live breaking news coverage, now switches to alternative sources. For example, over the weekend, it switched to a live stream of Rhode Island affiliate WJAR for coverage of the Brown University shootings. On Sunday, it relayed some of Sky News International’s breaking news coverage of the mass shootings in Bondi Beach. The former CNBC-branded Money Minute on NBC News Now has been brought in-house.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: screenshots