Telecoms and media giant Comcast is spinning off most of its NBCUniversal cable-TV networks—assets that brought in about $7 billion in revenue over the last year. Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that the company is shedding news and entertainment networks MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, E!, Syfy, and the Golf Channel, in the hopes that any assets that remain will continue to grow and boost Comcast's bottom line. One brand that will be sticking with the "mother ship": Bravo, along with the NBC network and Peacock streaming service.
Mark Lazarus, who currently heads up the NBCUniversal Media Group, is set to be CEO of the new venture, which is expected to take about a year to come into play. Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts will retain a voting position in the spinoff group, but he won't serve as an officer or sit on its board, per CNBC. Comcast had hinted last month that this type of split may be happening. "We think there could be an opportunity to play some offense," Comcast chief Michael Cavanagh said in an investor call, per Reuters.
The networks being siphoned off have traditionally been considered among the company's most appealing assets, with apparent growth potential. However, "years of cord-cutting have taken a heavy toll on subscribers and viewership," per the Journal, with streaming services partly to blame. One source tells CNBC that by spinning off the cable networks, it could open the door to them merging with other networks down the line, or to be sold to private equity. An official announcement from Comcast about the deal is expected sometime Wednesday. (More Comcast stories.)
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