page_title: History of MSNBC: 1996–2007
section_title: Programs debuted under Kaplan's leadership
hierarchical_section_title: History of MSNBC: 1996–2007 / Leadership under President Rick Kaplan (2004–2006) / Programs debuted under Kaplan's leadership
caption_attribution_description: MSNBC
context_page_description: The following is a history of MSNBC from 1996 to 2007. MSNBC is an American basic cable and satellite news television channel that was created in 1996 by Microsoft and General Electric's NBC unit, which is now the Comcast-owned NBCUniversal.
  Microsoft invested $220 million for a 50% share of the cable network, while MSNBC and Microsoft would share the cost of a $200 million newsroom in Redmond, Washington for. NBC supplied the channel space that was occupied by the 18-month-old America's Talking network. Its name is a combination of "MSN" and "NBC". MSNBC was created as an alternative to CNN.
  The following are highlights from the network's first 11 years; its history from 2008–2015 is separately covered. Mark Harrington was the first president of MSNBC until his death in 1998.
caption: MSNBC's current studio in NYC.
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