As MSNBC prepares to change to the MS NOW branding, the cable network has unveiled its new studios on Times Square in New York, with state-of-the-art technology in mind.
On November 15th, the network will abandon the MSNBC brand it has used for more than 29 years to become MS NOW, an acronym standing for My Source for News, Opinion, and the World.
The new studio will be the home of more than 120 hours of live news programming each week.
MSNBC noted that the buildout of the studio — which comes as the network and its cable compatriots like CNBC are being spun off by NBCUniversal — took shape in three months. The network’s studios are located in the Versant headquarters in the heart of Times Square.
(Photo: Versant)
Included in the new studios are:
The latest generation of LEDs on the market, fully capable of advanced broadcast applications and integrations across next-generation virtualized production, including AR, VR, and XR.
More than 1,782 square feet of LED product, including a custom 1.6 mm LED video wall that is capable of 240 Hz operation.
More than 2,648 individual LED modules, equaling 2,171 linear feet – or seven football fields.
A virtual reality studio with more than 60 million pixels, including a truly flexible, undulating LED screen capable of 240Hz at 1.6mm and a dynamic 1.6mm LED floor.
The cutting-edge display technology represents the finest pixel-pitch display capable of 240 Hz.
This technology enables each camera to output four distinct images simultaneously.
Camera tracking enables real-time content perspective shifts based on camera movement and zoom, delivering a highly realistic viewing experience.
More than 300 light fixtures are powering all three studios.
(Photo: Versant)(Photo: Versant)
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Many people continue to prefer traditional housing due to its familiarity and perceived permanence. Conventional homes often symbolize stability and long-term investment, deeply ingrained in cultural and social expectations.
However, there exists a creative segment of individuals and innovators who actively challenge these norms by developing alternative housing solutions. Among these emerging options, container-based housing stands out as a versatile and efficient model that addresses contemporary needs for affordability, sustainability, and adaptability in living spaces.
Containers Repurposed for Housing
Shipping containers are engineered to endure harsh environmental conditions, heavy loads, and frequent handling. Given these attributes, 40 ft Pelican containers are particularly suitable for multiple purposes, such as transforming into livable spaces, remaining in service for shipping, or providing secure storage when required.
In recent years, these containers have been adapted for a variety of uses beyond shipping. Their robust construction allows for transformation into mobile offices, pop-up shops, emergency shelters, and notably, affordable housing units. The modular nature of containers facilitates creative design approaches, enabling them to be combined, expanded, or modified to suit various spatial and functional needs.
Pros of Container-Based Housing
Container-based housing offers numerous advantages that make it an appealing alternative to traditional construction methods.
1. Affordability
One of the most significant advantages of container-based housing is its cost-effectiveness. Shipping containers are generally cheaper than traditional construction materials, making them an affordable option for those looking to build a home on a budget. In addition to the lower initial cost of the container itself, the construction process is faster and less labor-intensive, further reducing overall costs.
2. Speed of Construction
Since the basic structure of the home already exists in the form of the container, much of the groundwork and framework that would typically take weeks or months is already completed. In some cases, a container-based home can be built in a matter of weeks, allowing individuals and families to move in sooner.
3. Durability and Strength
Shipping containers are built to endure harsh conditions, including extreme weather and long journeys across the seas. As a result, they are highly durable and resistant to damage from the elements. This robustness makes them an excellent choice for long-lasting housing, capable of withstanding everything from heavy rain to high winds and even earthquakes when reinforced properly.
4. Sustainability
Container-based housing is an environmentally friendly option, as it repurposes used shipping containers that might otherwise end up in landfills. This helps reduce waste and promotes recycling. Additionally, container homes can be designed to incorporate sustainable features such as solar panels, rainwater harvesting systems, and energy-efficient insulation, reducing the overall environmental impact of the home.
While container-based housing offers numerous benefits, it is important to consider some drawbacks before choosing this type of living arrangement.
1. Zoning and Building Regulations
One of the primary challenges of container-based housing is complying with the complicated zoning and building regulations that exist in many areas. Shipping containers are not universally accepted as residential structures, and local building codes may not accommodate them. In some regions, authorities require specific modifications or may outright prohibit the use of shipping containers for homes.
2. Insulation and Temperature Control
While containers are durable, they are also prone to extreme temperature fluctuations. Steel conducts heat, meaning a container can become unbearably hot in the summer and cold in the winter if not properly insulated. Although insulation can be added, the process is often more expensive and complex than for traditional homes.
3. Space Limitations
Although container-based housing is highly customizable, the available space can be quite limited. A standard shipping container is only 8 feet wide, which can make the interior feel cramped, especially if the goal is to house a family. While multiple containers can be combined to create larger spaces, the overall size may still be smaller compared to traditional homes.
4. Potential Health Risks
Container homes, particularly those repurposed from used shipping containers, may pose health risks if not thoroughly cleaned and treated. Additionally, older containers may have rust or other contaminants that require remediation before they can be safely used as a living space.
5. Structural Modifications
While shipping containers are strong and durable, they are not originally designed to be homes. As such, significant modifications may be needed to turn a container into a comfortable living space. This can include cutting windows and doors, adding insulation, reinforcing the structure, and installing plumbing and electrical systems.
Shaping the Future of Housing
Container-based housing is transforming the way we approach urban living, offering quick construction, durability, and sustainable design. While it addresses key challenges in modern housing, it is not a replacement for traditional homes, which will remain essential to meet the needs of larger populations.
However, as part of a broader housing strategy, container homes can play a vital role in creating innovative and sustainable spaces.
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In its final Election Night utilizing the MSNBC branding, the network earned a ratings win over competitors Fox News and CNN.
According to data from the Nielsen Fast Nationals metrics, MSNBC was the number one cable news network during Tuesday’s primetime coverage. The network earned just under 3 million total viewers in the window.
Fox News, meanwhile, was not far behind, averaging 2.8 million viewers in primetime for its election night coverage.
CNN was third with 1.7 million viewers, with MSNBC earning its widest margin over CNN since 2019 in election night coverage.
It was a different story in the Adults 25-54 demographic, however. CNN was the top network in that sector, securing 513,000 viewers. MSNBC was at 461,000 viewers, with Fox News averaging an audience of 423,000 in the key demo.
The data from the Nielsen Fast Nationals is subject to change, with a final result being released in the coming days.
The ratings win for MSNBC comes just over a week before it is set to transition to its new branding. On Friday, November 15th, the network will become MS NOW, an acronym standing for My Source for News, Opinion, and the World.
The viewership figures pale in comparison to the 2024 election night numbers, which featured the results of the Presidential election between President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Fox News led all of television in 2024 with 10 million viewers watching its election night coverage in primetime. MSNBC averaged 5.5 million, with CNN earning 4.7 million viewers.
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ESPN is adding another familiar face to its basketball coverage. Inside the NBA analyst Kenny Smith has joined ESPN as part of a new multi-year agreement that will see him contribute across several platforms, including regular appearances on First Take and select game broadcasts.
The move brings one of the most recognizable NBA studio analysis to the network’s growing rotation of talent. Smith will make his first official appearance under the new deal as a special guest on NBA Countdown tonight, according to ESPN. He will also serve as a game analyst for select NBA broadcasts during the season.
Primarily, Smith is expected to play a key role on First Take. The network’s flagship morning debate show hosted by Stephen A. Smith. His addition bolsters ESPN’s on-air lineup with a perspective that blends credibility, humor and firsthand championship experience.
Smith, a two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets. He has spent more than two decades as a central figure on Inside the NBA. Helping shape the show’s reputation as one of sports television’s most influential programs.
His new ESPN role follows Inside the NBA beginning to air on the ESPN network throughout the season under a sublicensing agreement with ESPN. TNT Sports will continue to produce the show.
Throughout the season, Inside the NBA will appear as part of marquee events. Such as the NBA on Christmas Day, NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC, and NBA Sunday Showcase. Pregame shows on ESPN will air one hour before tipoff, while ABC broadcasts will feature a 30-minute pregame window. Postgame coverage will continue on the ESPN App following ABC games.
While full details of appearances have no been released, the move does open up the possibility of Inside the NBA talent doing more with the network that carries the programming. Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Charles Barkley have not come to any additional agreements with ESPN as of yet.
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Former NFL quarterback Drew Brees is returning to NFL broadcasting full time, joining FOX Sports as a game analyst in a multiyear deal that marks his most significant booth role since departing NBC three years ago, sources briefed on the agreement toldThe Athletic.
The move is expected to be finalized soon, positioning Brees as a core part of the network’s fall NFL coverage beginning next week.
According to the report, Brees’ exact crew assignment has not been announced. Sources tell The Athletic that he is slated to work with play-by-play voice Adam Amin for the remainder of the season. Bress will be under contract to call games through at least 2026. This gives FOX a high-profile addition to its analyst bench at a time when networks continue to aggressively invest in quarterback credibility and star power.
The signing also reinforces FOX’s depth behind its top NFL voices.
Once Brees officially joins the booth with a network boasting a lineup led by Tom Brady and Greg Olsen. Forming a notable rotation of former NFL players with national recognition. For FOX executives, the addition is the culmination of a pursuit that dates back to Brees’ abrupt NBC exit following the 2021 postseason.
After retiring from the NFL in 2020. Brees debuted with NBC in a mixed studio-and-game role but left after one season. He later acknowledging that he wanted another chance to prove he could rise to the top tier of analysts.
Earlier this season, Brees filled on for Julian Edelman on Fox NFL Kickoff. The former New England Patriots receiver was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame. That put Brees at the desk with Charissa Thompson, Charles Woodson and Jay Glazer. Since, Brees has also signed on as a weekly contributor to First Take on ESPN.
For FOX, the move comes as the network reshuffles elements of its NFL depth chart. Amin’s previous partner, Mark Sanchez, has been off the air since early October. Following a late-night altercation in Indianapolis that led to felony battery charges.
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Main Street Sports Group, parent company of FanDuel Sports Network and the largest holder of local sports media rights, announced that the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, and Milwaukee Brewers have each exercised options to extend their local media rights agreements with the network.
The extensions mark another vote of confidence in Main Street Sports Group’s local-market strategy. Which emphasizes multi-platform access and fan-focused coverage.
Under the renewed deals, broadcasts for all three clubs will continue to air across FanDuel Sports Network’s distribution platforms. Including cable, satellite, and vMVPD services. Fans can also stream games through TV Everywhere options. Also through the network’s direct-to-consumer app, available on iOS, Android, smart TVs, connected devices, and Amazon Prime Video.
“These renewals reflect the confidence in what Main Street Sports Group set out to build. A local, innovative, fan-first multi-platform business that helps teams grow their audience while ensuring clarity and consistency for their fans,” said David DeVoe, President of Main Street Sports Group. “The Brewers, Reds, and Royals are fantastic partners who share a commitment to accessibility and excellence. We are excited to work together as we reinvent the local sports media landscape. By delivering a new viewing standard for teams and their hometown fans.”
The renewals come on the heels of a record 2025 MLB season for FanDuel Sports Network. Which averaged 1.5 million nightly viewers across its nine partner clubs. The network also reported significant digital growth, with more than 900,000 unique users accessing its app during the season. Total streaming consumption rose nearly 70% year-over-year, surpassing 2.8 billion minutes viewed. A sign that the platform continues to reach younger, digital-first fans at scale.
Milwaukee Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger said the decision to extend was driven by the network’s growing accessibility and its ability to enhance the fan experience. “This past season’s surge in viewership is a reflection of our fans’ passion and the growing accessibility of Brewers baseball,” Schlesinger said. “We look forward to building on that momentum and continuing to deliver a high-quality viewing experience that brings the energy of Brewers baseball to fans.”
Cincinnati Reds President and CEO Phil Castellini praised FanDuel Sports Network’s approach to storytelling and distribution. “It’s a priority to give Reds fans dependable coverage, great storytelling, and the ability to watch Reds baseball across a variety of platforms,” Castellini said. “Main Street Sports Group has been an exceptional partner. Constantly raising the bar in how Reds baseball is produced and distributed to our fans.”
Kansas City Royals Chairman and CEO John Sherman echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the importance of connection and accessibility. “There is nothing more important to us than connecting with and making our games available to our great fans,” Sherman said. “Our viewership is growing and continues to rank among the best in baseball both through linear cable and streaming.”
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The Bobby Bones Nashville Podcast Network has announced the addition of a new faith-based program helmed by The Big 98’s Brooke Taylor.
The Upload with Brooke Taylor debuted on Wednesday, releasing new episodes each week. Taylor will be joined by co-host Pastor Mark Evens to take a deep and personal look at what faith means in everyday life.
The podcast will include conversations with plenty of music acts, both from the country and contemporary Christian genres.
“‘The Upload’ isn’t afraid to go deeper,” says Taylor. “We want to explore the real stories behind people’s faith — the moments of doubt, growth, surrender, and strength that define our walk with Christ.”
Those scheduled to appear on the new show from the Bobby Bones podcast network include music and entertainment, including Tyler Hubbard, Steven Curtis Chapman, Walker Hayes, Russell & Kailey Dickerson, Gabby Barrett, Carlos & Alexa PenaVega, Shawn Johnson & Andrew East, Anne Wilson, Conner Smith, Drew Baldridge, Dylan Marlowe, Chris Lane, Maddox Batson, Chase Matthew, and more.
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Curtis Sliwa said he’d never return to 77 WABC after the station owner — John Catsimatidis — and hosts on the outlet backed his challengers in the NYC mayor race. Catsimatidis said that feeling isn’t mutual.
While appearing on Sid and Friends in the Morning with Sid Rosenberg, following Sliwa’s third-place finish in the election, Catsimatidis was asked if he would ever welcome Sliwa back to the station.
“I don’t have anything against Curtis,” Catsimatidis said. “Curtis is family. His son works here. Look, I’m sure when you work 20-hour days — and I’m sure that Curtis was working 20-hour days — he had a lot of emotional ups and downs.”
Catsimatidis added that, in his view, Curtis Sliwa should have dropped out of the race in an effort to ensure that Democrat Zohran Mamdani did not win the election. He said that those on “the extreme right” were “filling his mind with hot air” putting himself in a position where he didn’t feel as if he could remove himself from the race.
The comments from John Catsimatidis come after Curtis Sliwa vowed to never return to the station for what he labeled as disloyalty from those inside 77 WABC in the run-up to the election.
“I am directing my comments to everybody at WABC,” Sliwa said late last month. “They have said I’m selfish. Selfish? Are you out of your mind? … But that’s why you will never see me at the studios of WABC again, never, no matter how this election turns out … I feel personally offended by what my friends and colleagues, many of whom I trained at WABC, many of whom wouldn’t have a job at WABC without me, have done,” Sliwa concluded.
Those comments came after Catsimatidis, Sid Rosenberg, and Greg Kelly, among other 77 WABC staffers, called on Sliwa to step aside in the race to better the chances of Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, who lost to Mamdani in the Democratic primary and also in the general election held on Tuesday.
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Former ESPN NFL analyst Merril Hoge says the network’s transformation into a debate-driven, personality-focused sports media outlet began with one fateful decision: placing comedian Dennis Miller in the Monday Night Football booth.
Hoge made the remarks during a recent appearance on the Arrowhead Allies Podcast, reflecting on what he sees as the moment ESPN shifted away from traditional sports coverage.
“Remember when Dennis Miller was in the booth? This was the start of it,” Hoge said. “In order to grow sports, instead of informing, entertaining, building on things that could enhance learning and keep you entertained and help you understand things, we’re gonna cross-pollinate. Their theory was we’re gonna take a comedian, we’re bringing him on Monday Night Football, people who will watch us that don’t like football, but they like to laugh. When I heard that, I was like, this guy can’t be in charge. That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard. And then I find out he’s second in command.”
Hoge was laid off by ESPN in 2017 after over twenty years with the network as an NFL analyst. He argues that this move set the tone for ESPN’s evolving content strategy, which he describes as favoring argument and entertainment over information.
“We [ESPN] want to debate and argue. That has been their goal for nearly a decade,” he said. “Debate and argue—do you have to know? All you have to know is that to debate and argue, you have to know your information. No, actually, the more ignorant you are, probably the better you are going to be debating an argument. So they chose that.”
According to Hoge, the shift has left a portion of ESPN’s longtime audience disconnected from the network’s programming.
“If you like debate and argue, watch, go ahead and watch. I mean, what? A lot of people that used to watch ESPN, that’s not what they watched ESPN for,” he said.
Hoge’s critique underscores a larger conversation about sports media and the ways networks attempt to expand their audiences. By injecting entertainment-focused elements and prioritizing controversy and debate, ESPN sought to reach viewers beyond traditional sports fans. However, former insiders like Hoge contend that these changes have come at the expense of the network’s original mission: to inform and entertain through the sport itself.
For Hoge, the lesson is clear: the Dennis Miller era was more than a quirky experiment—it was the starting point for a two decade-long transformation that redefined ESPN, for better or worse.
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The NASCAR Xfinity Series wrapped its 2025 season on Saturday with a championship race from Phoenix Raceway, capping the network’s first full year of airing the series with its highest viewership in four years.
Over 33 races, the series averaged 1,034,000 total viewers per week, according to Nielsen, marking a 10 percent increase compared with last season. Adults ages 18-49 also saw a seven percent gain. Saturday’s finale, which crowned Jesse Love as the season champion, drew 1,015,000 total viewers and peaked at 1,191,000 from 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET.
“Over the course of its first year on The CW, the NASCAR Xfinity Series has helped transform the network into a premium destination for sports,” said Brad Schwartz, president of The CW Network. “The success and growth of the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year showcases the unmatched power of broadcast television to connect with fans, both locally and nationally. We’re grateful for our partnership with the amazing team at NASCAR Productions, whose dedication helped make this inaugural season truly unforgettable.”
Schwartz added that the network looks forward to continuing the momentum into Daytona in 2026.
Brian Herbst, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief media and revenue officer, emphasized the role of fresh storytelling and accessibility in the series’ success. “By combining world-class racing with fresh storytelling and broad accessibility, we’ve been able to deliver incredible moments to both life-long fans and first-time viewers,” Herbst said.
The 2025 season on The CW kicked off with a high-octane start at Daytona International Speedway, drawing 1.8 million viewers — the largest audience for any Xfinity Series race in nearly three years. The first 13 races of the season each surpassed one million viewers, a feat the series had not achieved in almost a decade.
The network also introduced a new graphic package for the series, including a horizontal standings board at the bottom of the screen, while NASCAR Productions’ state-of-the-art studio brought fans closer to the action than ever. Strategic partnerships with sponsors and advertisers helped elevate brands on both national and local levels throughout the season.
Looking ahead, NASCAR will return to The CW in 2026, beginning with NASCAR COUNTDOWN LIVE from Daytona’s infield on Saturday, February 14. Play-by-play announcer Adam Alexander will return to the booth alongside analysts Jamie McMurray and Parker Kligerman.
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