Comcast Will Spin Off MSNBC, CNBC, and Cable Channels

The Comcast logo on the exterior of a Comcast office in San Francisco on Jan. 23, 2020. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Comcast Corp. is spinning off a new publicly traded company that will include a portfolio of its NBCUniversal cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC, and MSNBC.

On Nov. 20, the Philadelphia-based media company announced that it intends to create a new company called “SpinCo” that will own USA, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Golf Channel. The new company will also include complementary digital assets including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, and Sports Engine.

The announcement followed commentary from Comcast President Mike Cavanaugh during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. According to the company’s official transcript, Cavanaugh said Comcast was “exploring” a move regarding its cable networks.

In the announcement, Comcast said SpinCo’s news, sports, and entertainment assets had already reached 70 million U.S. households.

Comcast shares, however, fell on the news. After closing at $43.37 per share on Nov. 19, Comcast’s stock fell as low as $42.21 per share on Wednesday morning. As of about midday on Nov. 20, shares are trading at about $42.40 per share.

According to Comcast’s statement, SpinCo will be led by Mark Lazarus, the current chairman of NBC Universal Media Group. Lazarus will take over as CEO of SpinCo. In addition, Anand Kini, the chief financial officer (CFO) of NBCUniversal and executive vice president of corporate strategy at Comcast, will serve as SpinCo’s CFO and chief operating officer.

The statement did not say how soon the separation would occur, but it did say SpinCo would exist with “financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities.”

Comcast said the SpinCo assets—had they been a separate company at the time—would have made about $7 billion in revenue in 2024.

The media company said it will “continue to invest in its strategic core growth businesses” once its SpinCo assets depart. That will leave Comcast with its residential broadband business, wireless, business services, streaming, studio, and theme park assets. The move is not expected to affect Comcast’s debts or credit rating.

In its latest earnings report, published with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 31, Comcast said its net income had fallen in the first nine months of 2024 from the same period in 2023.

In the first nine months of 2023, Comcast reported a net income of $11.954 billion. In the same period in 2024, that fell by 6.4 percent, to $11.192 billion. That quarter includes the 2024 Summer Olympics, which Comcast properties broadcast in the United States.

Comcast does not differentiate among its broadcast, cable, and streaming segments in its federal disclosures. Rather, it reports “media” financial performance. According to its third-quarter earnings report, the revenue from its media segment increased by 13.9 percent, to $20.9 billion in the first three quarters of 2024 from $18.3 billion during the first three quarters of 2023.

In the same filing, Comcast said it expects the number of subscribers and audience ratings at its linear television networks to “continue to decline as a result of the competitive environment and shifting video consumption patterns.”

According to Nielsen data, viewership of the cable news channel MSNBC on Election Day 2024 declined sharply from Election Day 2020 viewership. About 5.5 million watched MSNBC on Election Day this year, a decline from 7.3 million in 2020.

The same data said Fox News Channel led the way among 24-hour cable news channels, with 9.8 million viewers on Election Day. CNN came in last place among Fox, MSNBC, and itself, with 4.7 million viewers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.