Comcast to split into two public companies, separating cable assets

Comcast will split into two publicly traded companies, separating its cable and broadband business from NBCUniversal and Sky in a tax-free spin-off expected to close in about a year. Brian L. Roberts will stay actively involved, Mike Cavanagh is set to become chief executive of NBCUniversal, and former Comcast finance chief Michael Angelakis is slated to lead Comcast after the breakup.

Comcast spent years building the case that owning both distribution and premium content would give it leverage across television, film and sports, but streaming, cord-cutting and the collapse in cable-network economics have steadily weakened that argument. After announcing in November 2024 that it would spin off a package of NBCUniversal cable networks into a separate public company, it is now going further by separating NBCUniversal and Sky from the rest of the group.

That 2024 cable-network spinoff, later called SpinCo, was set to include USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, along with Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and SportsEngine. Mark Lazarus and Anand Kini were named to run that entity.

Comcast announced the acquisition on December 3, 2009, closed the initial transaction with General Electric on January 28, 2011, and bought GE’s remaining stake in 2013. NBCUniversal’s 2011 annual report listed revenue of $21.1 billion and operating cash flow of $3.8 billion.

Comcast’s U.S. network reaches more than 65 million homes and businesses. Universal Destinations & Experiences employs more than 46,000 people, and Epic Universe opened in Orlando in May 2025 as the first major U.S. theme park debut in a quarter century. The company’s share price fell more than 17% in 2026 through the prior Friday before rising nearly 8% on June 29 after the breakup was announced.