This is not the first time we’ve had to report on something like this. The world of media ownership has been changing drastically in the last few years. While we’ve seen acquisitions and mergers like Skydance buying Paramount. And then going on to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Of course, WBD had its own story to tell in how they were desperately trying to split themselves up.
Why? Because cable television is falling hard and fast, Warner Bros. wants to insulate its movie business from that catastrophe. Comcast seems to have similar goals in mind with its plan to separate from NBCUniversal.
Prior to 2009, NBCUniversal was owned by General Electric. If you’d like to learn more about that, search YouTube. Look for David Letterman clips from Late Night when GE announced the purchase. Great stuff. Anyway, in late 2009, Comcast, the internet and telecommunications company, announced they were buying NBCUniversal. This included Universal Studios, NBC networks, their cable channels, and everything in between. It was a smart idea for them. Comcast already had a dominant force in broadband and cable services. Why not pick up the television channels as well?
Seventeen-something years later, and the world looks very different. The internet and access to it is more vital than ever. People need high-speed telecommunications for so many things, both out of necessity and for entertainment. All the entertainment stuff, though? That’s just a liability now. Cable television is dying, terrestrial networks are struggling, Peacock can’t make a profit to save its life, and big-budget films are a gambling market unto themselves. Why does Comcast need that when telecom is so vital?
Turns out, they don’t. On June 29, 2026, Comcast stated its intent to split with NBCUniversal. The former will focus on its telecom market but still hold a 19.9% ownership stake. NBCUniversal will be free to do what it will. It wouldn’t be entirely surprising to see if it tries to do what Warner Bros. Discovery did. The company might try to take Universal films’ name and push the NBC networks and cable channels into their own realm. Or, given the desire to capitalize on intellectual properties, maybe the hope is that another company will try to buy NBCUniversal for its assets. Netflix lost out on WBD; maybe they can pick up NBCU?
Mike Cavanaugh, the CEO to be of the separated NBCUniversal, had this to say. “Where we previously believed that scale and the diversification benefits warranted operating these businesses as one company, we’ve now simply changed our minds about that. We’ve now concluded that future success for each of our businesses will depend on focus, speed, and strategic flexibility that this separation will unlock.” Our opinion? That’s a lot of corporate speak to make this sound better than what it is.
With Comcast holding just shy of a 20% stake in NBCUniversal, they’re strategically leveraging what the future will hold. They can write most the liabilities of NBCU off their books now. They also hold enough stock to have some sway over what happens when another company tries to be NBCUniversal. That amount of ownership gets them a big seat at the table for negotiations and profits. Cavanaugh denied that the plan was to straight up sell off NBCU, but that’s what you have to say. You can’t go into the marketplace looking desperate to sell off; it eliminates so much of your bargaining potential.
The separation is not expected to be completed for at least another year. We will keep you posted as more news breaks and on who eventually buys NBCUniversal out. Make no mistake, it’s going to happen, and we’re willing to risk eating a big old plate of crow to predict that.
