NEW YORK – Microsoft Corp. and NBC are merging their financial Web sites, MoneyCentral and CNBC.com, into a personal finance site expected to launch this summer. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Microsoft and General Electric Co.’s NBC unit already have a 50-50 partnership in MSNBC, a six-year-old cable news channel that also has a Web site that has drawn high traffic ratings.
The new site, CNBC MoneyCentral, will become part of MSN, Microsoft’s family of online sites that also includes Slate and Hotmail, the companies said in a joint statement today.
Rebecca Tompkins, a spokeswoman for NBC, said that staff reductions were “likely” as part of the merger, but she declined to be more specific. “We’re in the process of reviewing the current staffing of both sides,” she said.
The deal follows close on the heels of NBC pulling back from its main Internet initiative by shutting down NBC Internet, a publicly traded subsidiary that pooled together a number of online businesses. CNBC had a small role in NBC Internet.
CNBC MoneyCentral will operate out of Microsoft’s offices in Redmond, Wash., as does MSNBC.com. The editorial staff will be split between there and Fort Lee, N.J., where CNBC is based.
