The Comcast NBC logo is displayed on a building in Los Angeles, California on June 13, 2018.
Mike Black | Reuters
Comcast is moving forward with a spinoff of its cable network channels, people familiar with the matter told CNBC on Tuesday.
The separation is expected to take about a year, and an announcement from the company could come as soon as Wednesday, the people said.
Mark Lazarus, the current chairman of NBC Universal’s media group, will lead the new entity, one of the people said. Anand Kini, chief financial officer of NBC Universal, will serve as CFO and chief operating officer of the new entity.
Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts will retain a voting position in the company, but will not serve as an officer or board of directors.
By unbundling the cable networks, it would give them the option to merge with other networks or possibly sell them to private equity, one of the people said.
The spin-off will be tax-free and the share structure of the new entity will mirror that of Comcast, according to the person.
At NBCUniversal, Donna Langley, currently chief content officer, will become chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios, while Matt Strauss, current head of the direct-to-consumer unit, will become chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, which Will oversee sales of sports, advertising. And distribution, the person said. Cesar Conde will remain chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, including overseeing NBC News Group, while executive vice president Adam Miller will become NBCUniversal’s chief operating officer, he said.
The company announced during its quarterly earnings call in October that it was considering divesting cable networks. Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said the company was looking to create “a new, well-capitalized company owned by our shareholders and our strong portfolio of cable networks.”
Comcast is moving forward with the decision as millions of customers opt out of traditional pay TV bundles in favor of streaming. The company has been improving NBCUniversal’s streaming platform Peacock in recent years.
Shares of Comcast rose more than 2% in after-hours trading.
Networks that are part of the spin-off include E!, Syfy, Golf Channel, USA and Oxygen, a person close to the matter said. Bravo will remain part of Comcast’s NBCUniversal because its content is heavily featured on Peacock, one of the people said.
Cavanagh said in October that NBCUniversal’s broadcast network NBC and Peacock would remain with Comcast.
Although bone-cutting has affected business, traditional TV networks remain cash cows for the media business. Comcast reported in October that third-quarter revenue for its media segment, which primarily consists of TV networks, rose nearly 37 percent to $8.23 billion, largely due to the Olympics. . Excluding the Summer Games, revenue was up about 5%.
The spinoff will take about a year as the company determines whether licensing agreements need to be in place, and whether MSNBC and CNBC will continue to work with NBC News, two of the people said.
Formal talks between CNBC and MSNBC and NBC News have yet to take place, one of the people said.
The spin-off was first. Reported By The Wall Street Journal.
— CNBC’s Julia Borsten contributed to this article.
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.
