Comcast to split into two companies, spin off NBCUniversal and Sky

Comcast said Monday that it plans to spin off the NBCUniversal media empire into a separate publicly traded company, cleaving it from the corporation’s broadcast and wireless business.

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The independent NBCUniversal will include the Universal Pictures film studio, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, NBC News, the streaming service Peacock, the cable channel Bravo, a lucrative theme parks division and Sky, a British TV broadcaster Comcast acquired in 2018.

Comcast will focus on providing broadcast and wireless services to business and residential customers. The company’s stock surged more than 22% in pre-market trading following the announcement.

The move comes during a period of head-spinning change for the American media industry as it grapples with the decline of linear broadcasting, the rise of streaming and growing competition from non-traditional digital platforms. It follows Comcast’s decision in November 2024 to spin off a suite of cable channels, including CNBC and MSNBC (now known as MS NOW) into a separate publicly traded company called Versant.

Comcast’s acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011 was seen as a major bet on the benefits of combining content and distribution pipelines, but in recent years some media analysts have questioned that strategy.

“It’s time to split, they have better futures on their own,” Rich Greenfield, a partner and analyst at LightShed Partners, told CNBC. He said he believes Comcast and NBCUniversal’s core businesses are no longer compatible. “Those days are over,” he said.

The separation between Comcast and NBCUniversal is expected to be completed in about a year. Comcast expects to retain a stake of up to 19.9% in NBCUniversal for as much as a year after the spinoff is completed.

In a statement, Comcast said current investors will own shares in both new companies. It said the deal would create “two focused industry leaders, each with significant scale, strong financial profiles and distinct strategic opportunities,” it said.

“Comcast’s board and management team believe each company will be better positioned to pursue its own strategic priorities, invest for growth and create long-term shareholder value as independent entities,” Comcast’s statement added.

Mike Cavanagh, Comcast’s current co-CEO, will run the new NBCUniversal. Comcast will be led by the returning Michael Angelakis, a former chief financial officer.

Comcast Chairman and co-CEO Brian Roberts will “continue to be actively involved in the leadership” of both Comcast and NBCUniversal, “working in partnership with the CEOs of both companies,” the company said in the statement.

“Both companies begin this next chapter from positions of strength,” Cavanagh said. “Comcast will continue to build on its leadership in connectivity, while NBCUniversal, together with Sky, will have the scale, brands, content and financial resources to compete as a premier global media and entertainment company.”

The new spin-off would be the latest shake-up in the industry following Paramount Skydance agreeing to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billion. The Justice Department signed off on that merger earlier this month, though the attorneys general of California and New York continue to investigate the deal on antitrust grounds.