Comcast and NBCUniversal are separating

Comcast realized what Liz Lemon from 30 Rock always knew: Content companies and their corporate overlords are better off separate. The telecommunications giant announced yesterday that it plans to spin off its entertainment and news division, NBCUniversal.

The split undoes Comcast’s 2011 takeover of the media company—which owns iconic IP like Shrek, SNL, and The Office—from General Electric. Coming months after Comcast spun out its ailing cable channels, it mimics moves from rivals Verizon and AT&T, which also shed media assets in recent years.

NBCUniversal will become a separate publicly traded company:

• It will include the streaming service Peacock, Universal film studios and theme parks, NBC News, broadcast networks NBC and Telemundo, as well as the European broadcaster Sky.
• Comcast will keep its cable, broadband, and growing mobile wireless business.

Investors welcomed Comcast’s re-focus on its core enterprise, and the company’s beleaguered stock rose 4.5% yesterday.

Parts greater than the sum

Many analysts think Comcast is cutting NBCUniversal loose to set it up for acquisition by an entertainment giant like Netflix or Apple, while positioning itself to buy another internet provider like Charter. But Comcast co-CEO Brian Roberts denied this, saying the move is merely designed to make the two companies more agile and entrepreneurial.

Big picture: Comcast is dealing with increased competition from internet providers, including SpaceX’s Starlink. Meanwhile, Paramount’s pending purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery would create an entertainment behemoth far bigger than NBCUniversal.—SK