American media giant Comcast, owner of NBCUniversal and Sky, will separate its media and connectivity units and create two publicly traded companies. The plan was announced on Monday, June 29.
The financial market viewed the initiative presented by the company positively. In pre-market trading, Comcast shares on Nasdaq registered a 23% increase.
The split, expected to be completed in about a year, will create one company anchored in Comcast's cable, wireless and business services segment, and another built around Universal's theme parks, film and TV studios, NBC, the Peacock streaming channel and the European media company Sky.
“The transaction we are announcing will unlock a more entrepreneurial management approach and open up a wealth of new opportunities for each business,” says Brian Roberts, chairman and co-CEO of Comcast, in a statement released by the company.
The deal will transform one of the largest companies in the connectivity and entertainment industry, which has used its scale as an engine for growth and to finance new businesses.
The company's financial health and the size of Comcast's core connectivity business allowed it to invest in large sports rights deals and build its own streaming service.
“The proposed separation reflects Comcast’s history of positioning its businesses to compete and win in rapidly transforming markets,” the company statement said. The change reflects “technological innovation, consumer behavior, and competitive dynamics that continue to reshape both media and communications,” it added.
Comcast has been working to stem the loss of broadband and cable TV subscribers while expanding its wireless services business, such as Xfinity Mobile.
The media company, which relies heavily on cable TV for its cash flow, is also losing broadband customers to T-Mobile and Verizon's fixed wireless internet offerings, as well as to fiber optic competitors that are expanding their networks.
But in the first quarter of this year, the company managed to slow the rate of decline in customers seeking its services. According to the analysis firm FactSet, Comcast reported losing 65,000 customers in its residential broadband service, significantly less than the 173,700 that analysts had predicted.
The loss of broadband subscribers in the quarter decreased year-over-year for the first time in five years, which Comcast attributed to its new market entry strategy.
Mike Cavanagh, co-CEO of Comcast, will lead the new NBCUniversal. Michael Angelakis, former CFO, will return to the company to assume the position of CEO of Comcast.
“Comcast will continue to consolidate its leadership in connectivity, while NBCUniversal, together with Sky, will have the scale, brands, content and financial resources to compete as a leading global media and entertainment company,” says Cavanagh.
Under the new format, the company's shareholders will own shares in both Comcast and NBCUniversal, according to the company's statement.
The new companies will have a dual-class stock structure, and Comcast expects to retain an approximately 20% equity stake in NBCUniversal for up to one year after the spin-off.
Comcast has not disclosed the expected market capitalization for the two new companies.
The brokerage firm Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and PJT Partners acted as financial advisors to Comcast in the transaction, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP acted as legal advisor.
In the first three months of the year, Comcast reported a profit of US$2.17 billion, compared to US$3.38 billion in the same period of the previous year. Revenue, however, grew. The company advanced 5.3% and reached US$31.46 billion, above the US$30.41 billion expected by analysts.
As of 2026, Comcast's shares have fallen by 17.2%. Over the past 12 months, the decline is 30.7%. The company has a market capitalization of US$82.7 billion.
