Comcast to Spin Off Cable Networks, Including MSNBC and CNBC

[searcher]

Comcast to Spin Off Cable Networks, Including MSNBC and CNBC​

The new publicly traded company is set to debut next year, with a bundle of channels that also includes Oxygen, E! and Syfy.

Comcast said Wednesday that it will spin off its cable networks, including MSNBC and CNBC, in a bid to unshackle its movie studio and theme parks from the waning fortunes of traditional television.

NBCUniversal, Comcast’s media division, is set to cleave off a bundle of cable channels that generate roughly $7 billion in revenue annually, including USA, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel, into a new public company. Comcast will keep the NBC broadcast network under NBCUniversal, along with Bravo, home to reality TV programs like “Top Chef,” the company’s theme parks and its Universal studio.

Brian Roberts, the influential chief executive of Comcast, will own a one-third voting stake in the new company, which is expected to complete the spinoff to Comcast investors before the end of next year, after shareholder and regulatory approval. Mr. Roberts will not serve on the board of the new venture nor oversee its operations.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/business/comcast-msnbc-cnbc-spinoff.html

 

[pmbug]

 

[searcher]

^^^^^

Elon Musk entertains idea of buying MSNBC​

Controversial billionaire Elon Musk responded to speculation that MSNBC could be put up for sale, asking on Friday how much the cable news network would set him back.

The Comcast media conglomerate announced Wednesday it planned to spin some of its NBCUniversal properties — including MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen and E! — into “a new publicly traded company.”

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MSN

 

[nickndfl]

I would buy MSNBC for a tube of ASEs and then fire everybody.

The bidding will likely be among Bezos, Musk, Sky and Branson.

Comcast has also peaked with so munch competition from streaming. I would expect a merger with AT&T, Disney or Universal while Trump is president.

 

[WinkWink]

 

[Goldhedge]

 

[searcher]

Moved into politics. I think this might get good.

MSNBC continues to shed viewers after Morning Joe announcement of meeting with Trump​

For years, Comcast-owned MSNBC built a loyal audience of progressive viewers who found solace in the network's abrasive and, at times, antagonistic coverage of then-President Donald Trump, only to seemingly whittle all that goodwill away in the course of a few days.

In the two weeks since Election Day, MSNBC has seen its total day audience dip 38 percent, according to Nielsen ratings reviewed by The Desk. Its average daily audience was 526,000, including 52,000 viewers between the ages of 25 and 54 years old (A25-54), the demographic most-attractive to cable news advertisers. The network's total day A25-54 audience was down 42 percent since Election Day, the Nielsen data showed.

Much of that viewership loss was precipitated by an announcement last week that the network's morning news hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough traveled to Florida to meet with President-elect Donald Trump, something both have defended as necessary to temper the political rhetoric heading into January, but something MSNBC's devout audience of left-of-center viewers felt was disloyal to the network's brand.

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MSN