I would have thought this would have taken place sooner. Comcast Corp. announced plans to split its media and technology businesses, spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky into a separate publicly traded company. NBCUniversal will hold theme parks, Universal Studios, NBC, Telemundo, Peacock, Bravo, and Sky, while Comcast will hold the broadband, wireless, and cable businesses. The deal is expected to close by mid-2027, with Mike Cavanagh, Comcast’s current co-CEO, running the new NBCUniversal, and Comcast led by the returning former CFO, Michael Angelakis.
The news comes just months after Comcast shed most of its cable TV business to Versant Media. Comcast’s acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011 was seen as a major bet on the benefits of combining content and distribution pipelines, but Wall Street never saw the value, and in recent years, we have seen little proof of value in keeping the businesses combined. Comcast’s current co-CEO reinforced this point when asked why they are doing the deal now, saying, “Where we previously believed that scale and the diversification benefits warranted operating these businesses as one company, we’ve now simply changed our mind about that.”
Comcast Chairman and co-CEO Brian Roberts said the split was “absolutely not” a step toward potential strategic transactions for either company and that selling NBCU is “definitely not our plan.” Comcast expects to retain a stake of up to 19.9% in NBCUniversal for up to a year after the tax-free spinoff is completed.
For those who suggest this now means that Netflix, Apple, etc., can acquire NBCU and Peacock, slow down. Anyone can claim that one company should acquire another, but that doesn’t mean it makes financial sense or benefits the company. People are writing “let the bidding begin,” but the split won’t even take place for another year. No one is bidding on anything.
