Comcast to spin off cable networks, once star performers for the entertainment giant

WASHINGTON (AP) - Comcast will spin off many of NBCUniversal's cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC and MSNBC, into a separate public company.

The shift, which comes as more and more people opt for streaming services over traditional cable, was telegraphed by the company when it released its most recent earnings last month.

The new company will also get Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel as well as movie ticketing platform Fandango and the Rotten Tomatoes movie rating site.

Peacock will remain with Comcast, as will Bravo, which provides significant content for the Peacock streaming service.

Mark Lazarus, current chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, will serve as the new entity's chief executive officer. Anand Kini, the current chief financial officer of NBCUniversal, will take on the same title with the new company as well as the chief operating officer role.

“As a standalone company with these outstanding assets, we will be better positioned to serve our audiences and drive shareholder returns in this incredibly dynamic media environment across news, sports and entertainment,” Lazarus said Wednesday.

Comcast said in the 12-month period ending September 30, the assets that will comprise the new company generated about $7 billion of the company's approximate $123 billion in revenue.

Comcast expects the new company to have the financial flexibility to be "a potential partner and acquirer of other complementary media businesses."

The spin-off is targeted for completion in about a year, the entertainment giant said, pending financing and approval from its board and government regulators.

Shares of Comcast, based in Philadelphia, rose 1% to $42.75.

Like other cable companies, Comcast in recent years has shifted its business emphasis away from tradition cable toward streaming and other sources of revenue, such as its movie studio, theme parks and home wireless and internet services.

In its most recent quarter, Comcast reported that paid subscribers to its streaming Peacock channel jumped by 3 million, or 29%, to 36 million subscribers. Peacock's revenue soared 82% to $1.5 billion in the period.

Peacock was launched in 2020, and after a confusing, glitchy start, has taken off recently, boosted in part by the platform's success and popularity during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Peacock streamed all 329 medal events and over 5,000 hours of coverage during the Games, with viewers streaming more than 23 billion minutes of Olympic coverage, led by Peacock. That’s a 40% increase over all previous Summer and Winter Olympics combined, Comcast said.

Comcast reported revenue of more than $32 billion and profit of $1.12 per share in its most recent quarter, boosted by the summer box-office success of “Despicable Me 4,” which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.

The company expects to open its Epic Universe theme park in Orlando in May of next year.