Two people with knowledge of the situation told NBC News that Comcast is anticipated to reveal a plan 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 plan.
During its October quarterly earnings call, Comcast had stated that it was thinking about splitting up its cable networks.
At the time, President Mike Cavanagh stated that the company was investigating the possibility of establishing a new, well-capitalized business that would be held by its shareholders and consist of its robust cable network portfolio. He went on to say that Comcast would continue to own NBCUniversal’s broadcast network NBC and the streaming service Peacock.
NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News, is owned by Comcast. Requests for response from NBCUniversal and Comcast were not immediately answered.
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.Last month, Comcast said that Peacock’s number of paid subscribers increased by over 30% to 36 million annually.
Bravo will continue to be a part of Comcast’s NBCUniversal since Peacock features a lot of its content, according to CNBC.
Conventional broadcast networks continue to be profitable.Due mostly to the Paris Olympics, Comcast’s media segment, which primarily consists of TV networks, had a nearly 37% increase in third-quarter revenue to $8.23 billion in October. Revenue increased by nearly 5% in the absence of the Summer Games.
The share price of Comcast increased by over 2% during after-hours trading.
As the corporation determines if licensing agreements need to be established and whether MSNBC and CNBC will continue to collaborate with NBC News, the spinoff is expected to take around a year, according to CNBC.
According to CNBC, the new firm will be run by Mark Lazarus, the current chairman of NBCUniversal’s media group. Anand Kini, the company’s chief financial officer, will serve as both the new organization’s 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 at 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 regional TV stations in addition to offering business growth advice to the organization. According to CNBC, Executive Vice President Adam Miller will take over as Chief Operating Officer of NBCUniversal.
Note: Thank you for visiting our website! We strive to keep you informed with the latest updates based on expected timelines, although please note that we are not affiliated with any official bodies. Our team is committed to ensuring accuracy and transparency in our reporting, verifying all information before publication. We aim to bring you reliable news, and if you have any questions or concerns about our content, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!