Comcast to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky into separate media business

Comcast is to spin off its media operation, which includes Sky and the Hollywood film studio, TV and theme park business NBCUniversal, into a separate publicly listed company. The move comes eight years after the US group, which said the separation will take a year to complete, acquired Sky’s European operations for £31bn. After completion of the deal investors will hold shares in Comcast, which will operate as a listed company operating broadband and mobile services to 65m US homes, as well as NBCUniversal. Brian Roberts, the co-chief executive of Comcast, said that separating the two companies would “unlock a more entrepreneurial management approach” for each business. The NBCUniversal business, which includes the streaming service Peacock and the TV network NBC, will be run by Mike Cavanagh, who is now co-chief executive of Comcast. “His vision is for a unique, independent, focused company that be home to some of the industry’s most valuable brands and assets across theme parks, film, television, streaming, sports and news,” Roberts said. “This new company will be well positioned to pursue the significant opportunities that lie ahead, to partner across the media and entertainment ecosystem, and will be poised to grow.” When Comcast acquired Sky for £31bn in 2018 the company guaranteed to keep funding Sky News for a decade, increasing its funding annually in line with inflation. …