MSNBC is a channel owned by NBC Universal. It is one of the most watched 24 hours news channels which was first introduced as a combination involving Microsoft and NBC. Over the last ten year, it has undergone a series of changes in terms of ownership.
When it was first started in the year 1996, it was owned by Microsoft and the NBC unit that was functioning under General Electric brand at the time. Initially, both companies used to share the operations of the television channel. It was soon followed by a series of business constructions and reconstructions and towards the end of the year 2005 NBC Universal went a step ahead to obtain the majority stake in the network. This left Microsoft with a bare 18% holding. Today, MSNBC takes third place on America's list of most watched cable networks behind Fox News and CNN. Its headquarters are being shifted to New York which is where NBC's main offices are located.

NBC's parent company is GE, so ultimately GE owns both NBC and MSNBC.