Comcast is splitting from its NBCUniversal television arm as the market of cable TV customers shrinks in the age of cord-cutting and TikTok.
The US media giant announced plans on Wednesday to spin off the bulk of its cable network channels — including CNBC, MSNBC, Universal Kids, USA Network, E!, Oxygen, Golf Channel, and Syfy — into a separate company. Comcast will retain its reality TV darling Bravo and the Peacock streaming service within its NBC TV business.
The new, currently untitled venture (dubbed “SpinCo” as a placeholder) will be led by NBCUniversal chairman Mark Lazarus, with NBCUniversal’s CFO Anand Kini serving as both its financial and operating head. Non-cable services including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, and Sports Engine will also be moving to the new company. The separation is expected to take about a year.
“This transaction positions both SpinCo and NBCUniversal to play offense in a changing media landscape,” Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said in the announcement. “Taken together, the entirety of NBCUniversal will be on a new growth trajectory, fueled by our world-class content, technology, IP, properties and talent – all working in concert with each other as an integrated media company.”
The revenue generated between September 2023 and 2024 by the assets being spun into the new company totaled $7 billion. Comcast spent almost $30 billion to acquire NBCU in 2013. The spinoff announcement comes after Comcast president Michael Cavanagh said in October that the company was exploring the idea of creating a separate company for its cable networks.
Disclaimer: NBCUniversal is owned by Comcast, which is an investor in Vox Media, which owns The Verge.