GLOBAL media and technology company Comcast will split into two publicly traded companies through a spin-off of NBCUniversal and Sky, separating its cash-generating broadband arm from a media and entertainment business under pressure from streaming rivals and industry consolidation.
Shares of the company rose nearly 8 percent on Monday. The stock has had a rough run, falling more than 17 percent this year through Friday’s close, after two straight annual declines.The proposed separation will create one company anchored by Comcast’s cable, wireless and business services arm, and another built around Universal theme parks, film and TV studios, NBC, Peacock and the European media business Sky.It unwinds 15 years of consolidation at the company that brought together content and distribution, with both feeling the strain from the rapid rise of streaming and sets up the two companies for more deals.It also alters the legacy of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, who stormed the media world in 2011 when he bought NBCUniversal in a deal that valued the entertainment giant at nearly $40 billion.Since then, cord-cutting has eroded profits of the cable TV business of legacy media players, forcing them to seek scale to better compete with streaming giant Netflix. Paramount won a bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery in February with its $110-billion bid to create an industry giant.Comcast, which leans on cable for much of its cash flow, is also losing broadband customers to fixed wireless offerings from United States carriers such as T-Mobile and Verizon, and to fiber rivals that are aggressively building out networks.“The transaction we are announcing will unlock a more entrepreneurial management approach and open up a multitude of new opportunities for each business,” Roberts said.Roberts, whose father Ralph founded Comcast in 1963, will remain “actively involved” in leading both companies after the split. He controls about a third of Comcast’s voting power through super-voting shares, a grip likely to carry over since NBCU will retain the same dual-class structure.Comcast Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh will run the new NBCU, while Michael Angelakis, a former chief financial officer, will return to lead Comcast as CEO, after initially joining as a strategic adviser ahead of the separation.Shareholders of the cable and media giant will own stock in both companies after the tax-free separation closes, expected to happen in a year.Comcast will keep a stake of as much as 19.9 percent in NBCU for up to a year following the spin-off, which it plans to monetize over time.Comcast’s studio business includes Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation and Focus Features, and is home to blockbuster franchises such as “Fast & Furious,” “Jurassic World” and “Despicable Me.” It brought in $11.29 billion in revenue last year, about 9 percent of the total.The media business, which includes NBC and Peacock, accounted for 21 percent of revenue with sales of $27.09 billion in 2025, while theme parks added another $9.84 billion.
