Comcast said on Wednesday that it plans to spin-off the bulk of its fading NBCUniversal cable TV networks, including MSNBC and CNBC, as the company said it is repositioning itself for growth in the streaming era.
Shares of the company were off less than 1% after the announcement that Comcast would separate its entertainment and news channels, including USA Network, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel, into a new, publicly traded company.
Comcast will retain the core of NBCUniversal’s entertainment assets, including its NBC broadcast network, sports and news, its film and television studios, and the Bravo network, which are seen as fueling growth for its Peacock streaming service. It also plans to keep the expanding theme park business.
Cowen & Co analysts in a note said the spin-off may well be a precursor to Comcast combining with another pay TV provider, such as Charter Communications, by shedding “toxic” cable channels that might be an obstacle to regulatory approval under the incoming Trump administration.
Cable television pioneer John Malone earlier this month […]
This information a bout Comcast is so scary to those of us who watch either MSNBC or CNBC. We are so used to getting much of our information from these channels and the wonderful people who are their main sources of what’s going on. We already are uneasy given the recent election and the nutty nominees for important cabinet posts. It is frightening just to imagine how bad things will be if the GOP senators don’t use good sense and prevent those incompetents from being confirmed. Just hope and pray they have the backbone to do the right thing—and stop being afraid of that idiot we call the president!!!! He’s terrible, fascist through and through and someone has to stand up for this country or all is lost!!!!!