Called Trash... "How Much?" Can Musk Acquire MSNBC?

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, showed joking interest by asking the price of the pro-Democratic news channel MSNBC, but experts say that an actual acquisition by him is unlikely. The main reason is not political inclination, but that MSNBC itself is not up for sale.

Reuters Yonhap News

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 25th (local time) that speculation about Musk's potential acquisition of MSNBC arose after Comcast, MSNBC's parent company, announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal's cable networks into a separate company last week, calling it "a steep climb."

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President-elect Trump, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on the 22nd, after Comcast's plans became known, saying, "Musk. I have a historically funny idea," along with a 'fake news' post about the sale of MSNBC. Musk responded with a comment asking, "How much?" showing interest. Although this was more of a joke between the two, some analysts noted it cannot be dismissed since Musk also asked "How much?" when acquiring Twitter. Musk has not hesitated to criticize MSNBC, a pro-Democratic channel, calling it "complete garbage of the earth."

WSJ pointed out that it is uncertain how serious Musk is about acquiring MSNBC, but the biggest obstacle is that it is not for sale. According to sources, Comcast is not considering selling individual assets. Moreover, in the process of spinning off the cable networks, Comcast views MSNBC, which has a loyal viewer base, as a core asset. A Comcast spokesperson stated in a press release, "We look forward to the planned spin-off of the cable networks," and dismissed the idea by saying, "None are for sale."

Additionally, Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast, holds one-third of the company's voting rights, giving him significant influence over major decisions such as asset sales. He will also hold voting rights in the spun-off company but is not expected to join its board. WSJ noted that this corporate structure is quite different from Twitter, which Musk acquired for $44 billion in 2022, where Musk was the largest shareholder.

Furthermore, Wall Street believes that if a new company centered on cable networks is created, separating MSNBC will become even more difficult. CNN also pointed out that if Chairman Roberts intended to sell MSNBC, he would have done so already, stating, "Unlike Trump Jr.'s shared post, MSNBC is not on the market." However, the network reportedly has already attracted interest from at least one progressive billionaire who has contacted MSNBC insiders about a potential purchase.

Since President-elect Trump's victory in this year's election, MSNBC's viewership has been declining. From November 6 to 21, immediately after the election, the daily average number of viewers was 527,000. This represents a 38% drop compared to the daily average of 847,000 viewers from January 1 to November 4, the day before the election.