- Comcast plans to spin off some NBCUniversal cable channels.
- The planned spinoff includes MSNBC, CNBC, E!, and Oxygen, among others.
- NBC, Bravo, and the streaming service Peacock would not be spun off under the plan.
Comcast is planning to break off some of its cable television channels.
The plan to spin off some NBCUniversal channels includes MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, E!, Syfy, and the Golf Channel, while NBC, Bravo, and the streaming service Peacock would remain under NBCUniversal, a source close to the plans told Business Insider.
The assets that are part of the planned spinoff generated $7 billion in revenue during the year that ended in September, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported that the spinoff was going ahead.
Comcast believed the spinoff, which would take about a year, would enable growth in NBCUniversal’s remaining assets, The Journal reported.
The outlet also said the new entity’s ownership structure would be similar to Comcast’s and that Mark Lazarus, currently chairman of NBCUniversal’s media group, would be named CEO.
Comcast declined to comment when reached by Business Insider.
Comcast said it was exploring spinning off its cable networks late last month, with BI’s Peter Kafka writing that the move served as yet another signal of cable TV’s decline. At the time, Mike Cavanagh, Comcast’s president, suggested that the company could break off MSNBC and CNBC while keeping NBC.
Analysts said Comcast could increase its valuation by selling its cable networks, though they were unsure if it would actually work out, BI previously reported.
“Carving out the US cable networks, which include USA, CNBC, and E!, without Peacock or the NBC broadcast network would be odd,” Michael Hodel, a media analyst at financial-services firm Morningstar, previously wrote. “The cable networks likely have little value on their own. A spinoff would have to be part of a larger strategic move, like merging with another firm.”
Other media giants are wrestling with what to do about their declining traditional TV channels. Disney CEO Bob Iger in the past floated the idea of selling Disney’s TV and cable channels. On its earnings call last week, Disney retreated that idea, though, suggesting that the price wouldn’t be high enough and that it would be too complex to separate them from the rest of the company.
That complexity hovers over Comcast as well. NBCU’s various TV channels are tightly integrated, sharing back office functions and talent that would have to be untangled, for one.
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