What does the "MS" reference in "MSNBC"?

In the 1990s, CNN was providing something that no other TV station had before: around-the-clock news. It had become clear that there was a market for dedicated cable news stations, and competitors quickly moved into CNN's market. Among those entering the market was MSNBC. But what kind of name is that? The network owes its names to its founders. One of those founders was current owner NBC, which was then a division of General Electric and is now Comcast's NBCUniversal. The other founder was Microsoft. The network's name was a mash-up of "NBC" and "MSN," the latter of which was Microsoft's "The Microsoft Network." Microsoft isn't involved anymore, but its legacy lives in the "MS" (and half the "N") of MSNBC.