Comcast to spin-off NBCUniversal, split into two companies
Separation to be completed next year
Fifteen years after buying NBCUniversal, Comcast Corp. announced Monday it was separating its businesses, spinning off NBCUniversal into its own, publicly-traded company. This comes at a time when streaming is becoming a dominant force in how viewers watch television, and amid growing pressure from rivals such as Netflix and Amazon. The split, which does not require neither party to pay any taxes, is expected to take up to a year to complete.
The split means Comcast will no longer own NBC, its owned-stations including Chicago’s WMAQ and WSNS-TV, Peacock, Telemundo, The UK’s Sky, Universal’s theme parks, Universal’s film and television operations, NBC’s regional sports networks, NBCSN, and Bravo, but will retain a 19.9 percent minority stake. Current Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanaugh will become CEO of NBCUniversal and former Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis becomes the new CEO of Comcast, which will now solely focus on its broadband business. Comcast shareholders will own stock in both companies.
“As we look ahead, it has become clear that our technology and media businesses each have compelling opportunities in front of them that are distinct in nature and best pursued with dedicated focus, strategic flexibility, and tailored investment priorities,” said Comcast co-CEO and chair Brian Roberts, discussing plans with investors on a conference call Monday. “That is why today we announced an important next step in Comcast’s evolution. Our plan to create two separate companies, Comcast and NBCUniversal.”
Wall Street seemed to be receptive to the news; Comcast shares surged 17 percent in early Monday morning trading. Comcast’s stock had been struggling in the last year, dropping as much as 30 percent.
The split is reminiscent of the one Viacom and CBS did in 2005 to get more properties out of their properties; Viacom focused on its then-growing cable properties and the Paramount movie studio, while the newly named CBS Corporation had everything else, with then-CEO Sumner Redstone helming both companies. After his passing, daughter Shari Redstone reunited the two in 2019 and was sold to David Ellison’s Skydance in 2024.
Other media splits saw News Corp. separating its print from its film and television businesses into 21st Century Fox, which most of it was acquired by Disney in 2019. After Tribune Co. left Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company separated into Tribune Media and Tribune Publishing as the former was purchased by Nexstar and the latter was swallowed up by Alden Global Capital.
In January, Comcast spun-off its cable networks into a separate company known as Versant.
This is the latest move by a media company as the ecosystem continues to change at a rapid pace. Two weeks ago, Fox announced its acquisition of Roku for $22 billion, and Paramount is buying Warner Bros. for more than $100 billion.
Announced in December 2009, Comcast purchased NBCUniversal, and closed a little over a year later after FCC approval. NBC was able to merge with Universal Studios in 2004 after General Electric agreed to give up control of the network to Comcast, which took a 51 percent stake and a full stake in 2013.
Monday’s announcement instantly increased speculation on the new Comcast possibly being swallowed up by another company, perhaps Charter as consolidation continues to ramp up in the media industry as companies are looking to build up scale. However, any deal from a telecommunications suitor could face stiff opposition, especially in blue states like Illinois as a merger between cable companies would need approval from all fifty states’ public service commissions. Meanwhile, NBC being acquired by, say Paramount or Disney, would face numerous barriers, including an FCC rule barring the major broadcast networks being owned by each other – not to mention the large number of debt any acquisition would occur.
On the conference call, Roberts stated a sale of a newly-spunoff Comcast and NBCUniversal or the two buying additional properties isn’t in the cards – at least right now. “This is the right move to put each company in the strongest position to create value, fully monetize its assets, and aggressively pursue its own organic growth strategies,” he said.
NBCUniversal also owns a trove of sports rights, including the NFL and recently returned the NBA and Major League Baseball to its portfolio. Locally, WMAQ has snared some major talent in the past year, with Chuck Goudie, Paris Schutz, and Lou Canellis joining the news team, and unveiled a new $70 million, state-of-the-art newsroom at the NBC Tower.
The split could be subject to approval by regulators – which may include the FCC, because of 47 television stations licenses NBC holds through the network and Telemundo as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is on the warpath against DEI and “news distortion” as NBC has been targeted by President Trump over what he calls “fake news”. When Viacom and CBS split, it didn’t go under any FCC review. But with this current administration, anything can happen.