{"id":2491627,"date":"2026-07-07T10:26:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T10:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2491627"},"modified":"2026-07-07T10:26:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T10:26:43","slug":"comcast-and-nbcuniversal-are-splitting-up-now-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/comcast-and-nbcuniversal-are-splitting-up-now-what\/","title":{"rendered":"Comcast and NBCUniversal are splitting up. Now what?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Last week marked yet another upheaval in the media and entertainment landscape, with the news that Comcast will spin off NBCUniversal\u2019s media and entertainment assets into a separate, publicly traded company.<\/p>\n

As my colleagues Meg James and Stephen Battaglio have reported<\/a>, the breakup unwinds longtime Comcast leader Brian Roberts\u2019 bold bet 15 years ago that merging cable television distribution with a stable of hit films and TV shows, as well as theme parks, would be a lucrative marriage.<\/p>\n

Though Comcast was generally considered a good steward of the Universal Pictures movie studio and its theme parks business, the company\u2019s stock flagged for years. Philadelphia-based Comcast lost thousands of broadcast customers from its primary business, and investors soured on the prospects for its legacy cable TV channels that faded with the rise of Netflix and other streamers. Something had to be done \u2014 and spinning off the cable channels into a new company called Versant<\/a> wouldn\u2019t cut it.<\/p>\n

The Comcast-NBCUniversal downsizing comes as other Hollywood players are bulking up. Paramount Skydance, of course, is finishing its purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, while Walt Disney Co. already had its merger era in 2019, when it bought the entertainment assets of Rupert Murdoch\u2019s 21st Century Fox.<\/p>\n

Where does that leave the soon-to-be Comcast-less NBCUniversal?<\/p>\n

That depends on whom you ask. Not as an acquisition target, according to Roberts.<\/p>\n

When asked by analysts whether the split was designed to position the two companies for a sale, he replied, \u201cAbsolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the right move to put each company in the strongest position to create value, fully monetize its assets and aggressively pursue its own organic growth strategies,\u201d he said in a conference call last week.<\/p>\n

Comcast co-Chief Executive Mike Cavanagh tried to hammer home that point in a memo last week to NBCUniversal and Sky employees, saying the soon-to-be separate company would have the \u201cambition to pursue opportunities that keep us ahead of evolving consumer behavior and audience demands\u201d and the \u201cfreedom to explore adjacent businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

That hasn\u2019t quelled speculation about whether NBCUniversal could become the next studio on the block.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, none of the major Hollywood studios are likely to be buyers \u2014 after all, two of them are currently merging.<\/p>\n

And while Netflix was previously interested in Warner Bros., the streamer is unlikely to be a bidder for NBCUniversal since the company probably wouldn\u2019t want to own the NBC broadcast network or Universal\u2019s theme parks, Rich Greenfield, a partner and media analyst at LightShed Partners, wrote in a note last week to clients.<\/p>\n

Netflix declined to comment on the speculation.<\/p>\n

Bankers and analysts have also speculated that Amazon MGM Studios could be a potential bidder for NBCUniversal, given it lacks a significant number of franchises and its expanding Prime Video streaming platform. Some analysts, however, think a deal is unlikely because the company would not want to be saddled with a broadcast network.<\/p>\n

In any case, a deal couldn\u2019t even take place for a few years due to the tax implications of the split. The spinoff will take at least a year, followed by a two-year buffer to avoid tax penalties.<\/p>\n

Which leaves NBCUniversal to maintain and build its own business.<\/p>\n

Already, Comcast\u2019s British TV service Sky \u2014 which will spin off with NBCUniversal \u2014 said it would acquire ITV Media and Entertainment<\/a> in a $2.1-billion deal. Known for hits such as \u201cLove Island\u201d and \u201cMidsomer Murders,\u201d ITV already reaches about 40 million people weekly; when combined with Sky, the new business will account for about 20% of in-home viewing in the U.K., the two companies said in a statement Sunday.<\/p>\n

NBCUniversal already has a stable of valuable franchises, including \u201cFast & Furious,\u201d \u201cDespicable Me\/Minions\u201d and \u201cJurassic Park,\u201d and its film studio is poised for a big 2026 box-office haul with the billion-dollar-grossing \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie\u201d and Christopher Nolan\u2019s upcoming film, \u201cThe Odyssey.\u201d<\/p>\n

But arguably, the most intriguing hit it has had this year is Focus Features\u2019 \u201cObsession,\u201d the $750,000 budget horror film<\/a> from 26-year-old Curry Barker, who built his reputation on YouTube. The film has now grossed more than $403 million worldwide, and its success, along with that of A24\u2019s \u201cBackrooms,\u201d has galvanized interest in internet-native stories.<\/p>\n

Could the independent NBCUniversal look for more of these narratives? Robert Fishman of MoffettNathanson posed the idea in a note to clients that the company could pursue content creator acquisitions \u201cas franchises,\u201d which would allow it to \u201cdirectly leverage engagement on YouTube, TikTok and other social media platforms as well as to drive younger demographics towards its own flywheel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not a bad idea when most of Hollywood is trying to connect with Gen Z.<\/p>\n

Stuff We Wrote<\/h2>\n

Film shoots<\/h2>\n
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