Comcast, the telecom giant, has announced that it is getting rid of some of its woke cable holdings, most notably MSNBC, as the ratings for those channels crash ever harder in the wake of the presidential election and alongside a general decline in cable TV viewership levels as people cut the expensive entertainment option and embrace much cheaper streaming alternatives.
Announcing its decision, one that was probably made because of the decline and death of cable TV and hastened by the post-election behavior of cable networks like MSNBC, which further led to a sharp ratings decline, Comcast said that it plans to separate from MSNBC and other cable networks and bundle them into a new entity.
Announcing the decision in a corporate press release, Comcast said, “Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) today announced its intent to create a new publicly traded company comprised of a strong portfolio of NBCUniversal’s cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel along with complementary digital assets including Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and Sports Engine, through a tax-free spin-off. The well-capitalized independent company (“SpinCo”) will have significant scale as a pure-play set of assets anchored by leading news, sports and entertainment content.”
Continuing, Comcast said, “SpinCo will be an industry-leading news, sports and entertainment cable television business with a focused strategic direction. SpinCo’s stable of marquee brands will provide a diverse and differentiated content offering that will reach approximately 70 million U.S. households.”
Then, describing what will happen to NBCUniversal, Comcast said, “The planned spin-off will also strategically position NBCUniversal with its leading broadcast and streaming media properties, including NBC entertainment, sports, news and Bravo – which all power Peacock – along with Telemundo, the theme parks business and film and television studios.”
Further, Comcast noted what it will do with its other businesses, saying, “As a global media and technology company, Comcast will be well-positioned to continue to invest in its strategic core growth businesses across its Content & Experiences and Connectivity & Platforms businesses, including residential broadband, wireless, business services, streaming, studios and theme parks. The transaction is expected to be accretive to revenue growth at Comcast and approximately neutral to Comcast’s leverage position. The company does not anticipate any change to its credit profile or ratings as a result of this transaction.”
Commenting on the matter, Brian L. Roberts, the Chairman and CEO of Comcast, “When you look at our assets, talented management team and balance sheet strength, we are able to set these businesses up for future growth. With significant financial resources from day one, SpinCo will be ideally positioned for success and highly attractive to investors, content creators, distributors and potential partners.”
Also chiming in was Mike Cavanagh, President of Comcast, who said, “This transaction positions both SpinCo and NBCUniversal to play offense in a changing media landscape. Taken together, the entirety of NBCUniversal will be on a new growth trajectory, fueled by our world-class content, technology, IP, properties and talent – all working in concert with each other as an integrated media company.”
Mark Lazarus, who will serve as the CEO of SpinCo, said, “As a standalone company with these outstanding assets, we will be better positioned to serve our audiences and drive shareholder returns in this incredibly dynamic media environment across news, sports and entertainment. We see a real opportunity to invest and build additional scale and I’m excited about the growth opportunities this transition will unlock. Our financial strength will also provide capacity for an attractive capital return policy while allowing for investment in the growth of these businesses.”
Commenting on the matter, Breitbart’s John Nolte noted that, in addition to just being highly expensive and often leading to paying for channels that are never once watched, paying for cable means funding awful outlets like CNN and Comcast-ditched MSNBC. Nolte said, making that point:
The most obscene part is that whether you watch or not, you are subsidizing hate outlets like CNN and MSNBC. A piece of your monthly cable bill goes directly into their pockets. CNN could not survive in a merit-based system. Too few people watch CNN for it to make any real money from advertising. So, CNN is subsidized through the affirmative action of CSTV where tens of millions of Americans send CNN hundreds of millions of dollars through their cable bill every year. This is called a carriage fee.
Watch the Morning Joe co-hosts on MSNBC freak out about the matter here:
Featured image credit: By Official Navy Page from United States of AmericaChief Mass Communication Specialist Sam Shavers, U.S. Navy – The SECNAV interviews with MSNBC broadcast journalists on the set of the weekday morning talk show “Morning Joe” in New York., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22665913
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