NEW: Cable Giant Plans Major Shakeup After MSNBC’s Ratings Tank
Comcast announced Monday that it will be merging a number of cable assets, including news assets like MSNBC and CNBC, into a separate publicly traded company.
The new company will include the USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and the Golf Channel. Comcast will retain a number of NBCUniversal assets, including the Peacock streaming service, the NBC broadcast network, NBC News and the Bravo cable channel.
“The transaction will be structured as a tax-free spin to existing shareholders,” Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said in an internal memo. “While we don’t have a precise timetable for completing the transition, we are estimating that it will take approximately a year.”
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The news comes just days after MSNBC’s ratings tanked by 53 percent after President-elect Donald Trump soundly defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election. Hyper-partisan network hosts had for months labeled the president-elect and his supporters as “threats to Democracy” while oftentimes comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler.
MSNBC hosts and staffers have been embroiled in a network “civil war” after Trump’s crushing victory, as “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski met with the president-elect at Mar-A-Lago and vowed to cover his second term from a different perspective.
The hosts nervously joked that they could soon be fired when announcing their parent company’s plans during Tuesday’s broadcasts.
Comcast’s announcement comes as the cable industry continues to undergo a major shakeup due to cord-cutting and the rise of streaming packages. The company hopes that the new venture will strengthen its assets and help to preserve its hold on shaping the nation’s cultural landscape.
“The well-capitalized, independent company will be positioned to lead in the changing landscape for cable networks given the strength of its portfolio and the quality and focus of its management team,” Cavanagh said.
The new company, which has yet to be given a formal name, “will have significant cash flow, a strong balance sheet, and the financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities, both organically and potentially through acquisitions,” he added.
The new company will be led by Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal’s media group. Anand Kini, NBCUniversal’s chief financial officer, will serve as the CFO and chief operating officer, NBC News reported.
The new structure is particularly notable for MSNBC and CNBC, as each network will now be separate from NBCUniversal’s news-gathering network. It is not yet clear whether NBC News will continue to collaborate with the networks on editorial projects.
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