Comcast says it plans to split into 2 companies, spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky

Comcast said Monday it will split into two companies by spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky into a separate media company, leaving its broadband and wireless businesses under Comcast.

In a statement, the media company said the tax-free spinoff will allow each business to pursue its own strategy, invest for growth and create shareholder value.

Shares of Comcast jumped $4.85, or 21%, to $28.02 in premarket trading.

The separation will create a standalone entertainment and media business under the NBCUniversal brand, which will include its Universal theme parks and its networks, including NBC and Sky. The remaining assets, which will remain under the Comcast name, will include Xfinity, Xfinity Wireless and Comcast Business. 

Like other cable companies, Comcast has in recent years shifted away from traditional cable toward streaming and other revenue sources, such as its movie studio, theme parks and home wireless and internet services.

“Comcast shares have traded poorly due in large part to concerns about the secular outlook for the broadband and cable businesses,” Wall Street analyst Adam Crisafulli, head of Vital Knowledge, said Monday in a research note.

The new NBCUniversal spinoff will include “an attractive mix of assets, including the theme parks and Universal film/TV studio … and should presumably have more flexibility to participate in the industry’s aggressive wave of M&A,” he wrote. 

But, Crisafulli added, “Worries about the broadband business outlook won’t go away, and if anything, this deal will leave that unit more exposed.”

The planned move comes after Comcast announced in November 2024 that it was spinning off cable networks such as USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, as well as CNBC and MSNBC into a new company. Movie ticketing platform Fandango and the Rotten Tomatoes movie rating site were also included. 

Leadership of the new companies

Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanagh will become the CEO of NBCUniversal. Comcast’s former chief financial officer, Michael Angelakis, will become the CEO of Comcast following completion of the separation. In the interim, he will serve as a strategic adviser. 

Comcast chairman and co-CEO Brian Roberts will continue to be actively involved in the leadership of Comcast and NBCUniversal, working in partnership with the CEOs of both companies.

Comcast will retain a 19.9% ownership stake in NBCUniversal, the statement said. The transaction is expected to be completed in about 12 months.