Comcast moves forward with spinoff from MSNBC and other cable channels

On By Littum

MSNBC and other NBCUniversal cable channels currently under the Comcast umbrella will soon be under new ownership as their parent company plans to spin off those assets going forward.

Comcast bought NBCUniversal in 2011, giving it ownership of channels such as MSNBC, CNBC, SyFy and E!. While these and several other NBCUniversal networks generated about $7 billion for the network in the year that ended Sept. 30, Comcast has opted out of those networks after considering the idea last month, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

This spinoff is expected to take place within a year and will be structured as tax-free for Comcast shareholders.

A Comcast truck is shown on January 24, 2019 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

The parent company isn’t divesting all of those networks, though, as NBC broadcast network Bravo and streaming service Peacock are expected to be kept by Comcast.

Prior to these changes, Comcast is making several changes to its management, all of which are effective immediately. Among these is Donna Langley, NBCUniversal’s chief content officer, who is being promoted to president of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios.

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Comcast’s plans for NBCUniversal’s cable channels come under fire a decline in cable subscriptions in the United Stateswhich went from a peak of 105 million households subscribing to cable TV in 2010 to just the 70 million expected by the end of this year.

Earlier this month MSNBC attracted over 6 million viewersmost for MSNBC on an election night. The network too beat rival network CNN in ratings on election nightwhen CNN only got 5.1 million viewers.