Elon Musk buying MSNBC? A difficult feat, because it isn’t for sale

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Can Elon Musk make a run at acquiring MSNBC? It would be a steep climb. One big reason: it isn’t for sale.

Last week, Comcast said it was moving forward with a plan to spin off its NBCUniversal cable networks into a separate company. That news prompted speculation that the Tesla chief executive might pursue left-leaning news channel MSNBC. Musk, who hasn’t been shy about his criticisms of MSNBC, calling the network “utter scum of the Earth," fueled that story line in an exchange on X, the social-media platform he owns.

When Donald Trump Jr. posted about MSNBC, encouraging Musk to buy it, the billionaire replied: “How much does it cost?" It is unclear how serious Musk is about MSNBC, but buying the network wouldn’t be an easy feat. Comcast isn’t interested in selling off individual assets, people familiar with the matter said.

It plans for the spinoff company, which will include several other NBCUniversal channels such as CNBC, USA, Syfy and E!, to explore acquisitions of other cable networks. “We are looking forward to the planned spin of our cable networks, which will create a new company owned by our shareholders—none of these assets are for sale," a Comcast spokeswoman said in a written statement. After Comcast completes the transaction—a process that is expected to take about a year—the new company will negotiate distribution deals with companies such as Charter Communications.

MSNBC, with its loyal following, will provide critical leverage in those discussions, the people said. “They never had any intention of selling things off piecemeal," said Joseph Bonner, a senior analyst in technology, media and telecommunications at Argus Research. “Maybe if the price is right, they would