By Don Chmielewski
(Reuters) – Comcast Inc. is moving forward with plans to spin off its NBC Universal cable TV networks including MSNBC and CNBC, sources say, shedding a key part of the business that has been a victim of the live video revolution.
The company told investors last month that it was evaluating spinning off its cable networks into a separate company owned by Comcast shareholders.
“We think there may be an opportunity to play some offense,” Comcast President Michael Kavanagh said during the company’s third-quarter investor call.
The new venture will be well capitalized, one of the sources said, adding on Tuesday that it would be in a position to acquire other cable networks if the industry consolidates.
Comcast will retain NBC’s NBCUniversal streaming television network, its film and TV studios and theme parks, as well as its Peacock streaming service. Comcast will also retain its Xfinity broadband service.
The show will consist of other news outlets and cable networks, such as USA and E! Syfy and the Golf Channel, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the decision.
These still profitable networks have generated revenues of about $7 billion over the past 12 months, the newspaper reported.
Cable networks were an attractive lure when Comcast completed its acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011, but the rise in popularity of streaming services has eroded cable TV subscriptions and viewership.
In August, Warner Bros Discovery wrote down the value of its television assets by $9 billion. Paramount Global followed suit, taking a $5.98 billion fee for its television networks that same month. The Walt Disney Company weighed getting rid of its cable networks earlier this year, but ultimately rejected the idea.
(Reporting by Don Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Henderson and Michael Perry)
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