Comcast Splitting Again, Will Spin NBCU Into Its Own Public Company

Less than a year after splitting its NBCUniversal division up by spinning off many of its cable networks to a new publicly traded company, Comcast this morning announced it is splitting its entire company into two independent publicly traded companies: NBCUniversal and Comcast Corp.

The restructuring comes 13 years after Comcast acquired total interest in NBC, including Universal pictures, theme parks and various cable networks from former parent GE.

Comcast will operate as a media-technology company focusing on residential and business customers of its broadband, wireless and entertainment platforms, while NBCUniversal will operation as a global media and entertainment company anchored by its theme parks, film and television studios, including NBC, Telemundo, Peacock, and Bravo.

In addition, NBCUniversal’s global portfolio will include its European media business Sky.

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Together, these businesses will be powered by a portfolio of intellectual property, a deep content library, content-creation capabilities and strength across sports, news and entertainment.

"With iconic brands, valuable intellectual property, global distribution and leading creative talent, NBCUniversal will be strongly positioned to compete and grow in an evolving media landscape," the company said.

Under a two-year commercial services agreement, NBCUniversal sells domestic ad inventory for Versant’s portfolio -- including USA, CNBC, MSNBC, Syfy, and E! -- through its One Platform banner, covering the next two upfront cycles.

This allows advertisers to access both NBCUniversal and Versant brands under the same data and technology.

Today's announcement did not indicate any long-term plans for NBCUniversal and Versant advertising sales and technology partnership.

Comcast Chairman and co-CEO Brian Roberts will continue to run Comcast, while co-CEO Mike Cavanagh will become CEO of NBCUniversal.

In a related move, Comcast announced former CFO Michael Angelakis will rejoin Comcast as CEO.

The fate of "30 Rock," the landmark building that has been the home of both NBC's and Comcast's brand since it was renamed the "Comcast Building" in 2015, was not disclosed.

The split is expected to be completed within a year.

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