Comcast Spins Off MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, E!, Syfy, Fandango, and Rotten Tomatoes to Form New Company

Comcast is waving farewell to its less-important NBCUniversal television assets, as MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Oxygen, E!, Syfy, and Golf Channel — and holdings like Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, and Sports Engine — are being spun off into a new independent company. What the spin really accomplishes, however, is the propping up of key assets NBC, Peacock, and Bravo, which stay behind as part of NBCUniversal (the film studio, theme parks, and Telemundo are also staying put).

But what it may really, really accomplish is keeping Donna Langley out of potential Disney CEO contention. Her power at NBCUniversal continues to grow and grow.

Langley will “lead greenlight decisions across the NBCU enterprise and have full oversight of all entertainment programming and marketing across Peacock, Bravo, and NBC — including primetime and late night — and will continue to oversee the global creative strategy, business operations, production, acquisitions, marketing, and distribution for our portfolio of award-winning Film and Television Studios,” Comcast Corporation President Mike Cavanagh wrote in a memo to staff (obtained by IndieWire).

The NBCU TV table scraps go to Mark Lazarus, the current chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group. Anand Kini will be CFO and chief operating officer, and Cavanagh said that both of them “raised their hands to lead this initiative.”

“As a standalone company with these outstanding assets, we will be better positioned to serve our audiences and drive shareholder returns in this incredibly dynamic media environment across news, sports and entertainment,” Lazarus, who will be CEO of the unnamed new entity, said in a statement shared to press. “We see a real opportunity to invest and build additional scale and I’m excited about the growth opportunities this transition will unlock. Our financial strength will also provide capacity for an attractive capital return policy while allowing for investment in the growth of these businesses.”

His boss-for-a-little-while-long, Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts, agrees.

“When you look at our assets, talented management team and balance sheet strength, we are able to set these businesses up for future growth,” Roberts said in a statement. “With significant financial resources from day one, SpinCo will be ideally positioned for success and highly attractive to investors, content creators, distributors and potential partners.”

(SpinCo is a temporary name being used for the new company.)

Roberts teased that a spin off could be coming while discussing Comcast’s summer-quarter earnings.

Comcast now says the SpinCo assets combined for about $7 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, and that the new company “will reach approximately 70 million U.S. households,” Cavanagh wrote; the remaining key NBCU assets should have “nearly $40 billion in annual revenues.”

SpinCo will operate as an independent business, but it “will enter into a transition services agreement with NBCUniversal to allow SpinCo to operate seamlessly from day one,” the press release noted.

Under Langley, Matt Strauss will become chairman of the NBCUniversal Media Group and his oversight (primarily Peacock) will be expanded to NBC Sports, advertising sales, content distribution, Decision Sciences & Research, and NBC Broadcast Affiliate Relations. Mark Woodbury remains in charge of theme parks, Cesar Conde keeps NBC News and Telemundo, and Adam Miller becomes NBCU chief operating officer. They’ll need a new CFO.

The spin off is expected to be completed in about one year, subject to approvals — including regulatory.