by Scott Ott
(2005-12-23) -- NBC Universal today moved to take control of its MSNBC-TV
joint venture with Microsoft, bumping its stake from 50 percent to 82
percent with plans to assume 100 percent ownership in two years.
The move shocked MSNBC's viewer, who expressed concerns about how it
might affect favorite shows on the 24-hour news network.
"I'm hoping that NBC just sees this as a great investment and won't make
any programming or talent changes," the unnamed MSNBC viewer said. "I'd
hate to think that I wouldn't be able to watch old what's-his-name on
that one show."
A spokesman for Microsoft said it would phase out of the television news
venture in order to focus on its core business of providing free security
patches for its popular Windows software.