Details Emerge About The Comcast Spin-Off Plan

Comcast Corp. detailed a plan Wednesday morning to spin off a $7 billion portfolio of its cable networks into their own publicly traded company.

The Philadelphia Business Journal ewpoera the new independent media business — tentatively dubbed SpinCo — is made up of NBCUniversal brands. The spinoff will group together brands including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel. With them will come certain other media assets including Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, as well as sports management software GolfNow and Sports Engine.

The brands that will make up the spinoff generated about $7 billion in revenue in the last 12 months ending Sept. 30, according to Comcast. The company posted total revenue of $121.6 billion in 2023.

The new public company will not include the legacy NBC channel or streaming service Peacock, which Comcast has invested heavily in. Bravo and Telemundo are also not included. Additionally, production studios DreamWorks and Universal Pictures, as well as the Universal theme parks are not part of the spinoff.

The Philadelphia-based tech and media conglomerate is aiming to complete the spin off in about a year. It will have the same dual-class share structure as Comcast. The transaction will be structured as a tax-free spin to existing Comcast shareholders.

Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts will not be on the board of the new venture, but will hold a one-third voting stake.

NBCUniversal has its headquarters in New York, and the television studios mostly operate out of Hollywood, so it remains to be seen what impact — if any — the standalone media company will have on Comcast's Philadelphia operations.

The spinoff will be led by CEO Mark Lazarus, the current chairman of the NBCUniversal Media Group. He will team with COO and CFO Anand Kini, the current CFO of NBCUniversal and an executive vice president of strategy at Comcast.