- Comcast plans to spin off some NBCUniversal cable channels, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- 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 breaking off some of its cable television channels, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
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, sources told the outlet.
The assets that are part of the planned spinoff generated $7 billion in revenue during the year that ended in September, The Journal said.
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.
The company proposed 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.”
