Two sources with knowledge of the situation told NBC News that Comcast is anticipated to reveal a proposal on Wednesday to split off its cable networks into a different business.
Some of NBCUniversal’s most well-known brands, including as MSNBC, E!, Syfy, Golf Channel, USA, CNBC, and Oxygen, would be split off as a result of the split. These networks now face the same cord-cutting issues as many other big cable channels.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the spinoff proposal.
During its October quarterly results call, Comcast had stated that it was thinking about splitting up its cable networks.
At the time, the business was considering forming “a new, well-capitalized company owned by our shareholders and comprised of our strong portfolio of cable networks,” according to President Mike Cavanagh. He went on to say that Comcast will continue to own NBCUniversal’s broadcast network NBC and the streaming service Peacock.
NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News, is owned by Comcast. A Comcast representative chose not to comment.
As millions of consumers switch from traditional pay TV bundles to streaming, Comcast is proceeding with the decision. In recent years, the business has been strengthening Peacock. Peacock’s paid subscriber base increased from about 30% to 36 million year over year, according to Comcast last month.
According to CNBC, Bravo will continue to be a part of Comcast’s NBCUniversal because Peacock prominently features its content.
Conventional broadcast networks continue to be profitable. Due in major part to the Paris Olympics, Comcast’s media sector, which mostly consists of TV networks, had a roughly 37% increase in third-quarter revenue to $8.23 billion in October. Revenue increased by about 5% in the absence of the Summer Games.
The share price of Comcast increased by almost 2% during after-hours trading.
The separation will take about a year, according to CNBC, while the business determines if licensing arrangements need to be established and whether MSNBC and CNBC will continue to collaborate with NBC News.
According to CNBC, the new business will be run by Mark Lazarus, the current chairman of NBCUniversal’s media group, with Anand Kini, the company’s chief financial officer, serving as both the CFO and operations chief.
Brian Roberts, the chairman and CEO of Comcast, will be able to vote in the new organization but will not serve on the board of directors, according to CNBC.
The current chief content officer of NBCUniversal, Donna Langley, will take on the role of chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios. As chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, Matt Strauss, who now leads the direct-to-consumer division that includes Peacock, will be in charge of sports, ad sales, and distribution, according to CNBC.
As chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, Cesar Conde will continue to oversee NBC News, Telemundo, and local TV stations. He will also continue to advise the firm on business development areas. According to CNBC, Executive Vice President Adam Miller will take over as Chief Operating Officer of NBCUniversal.
