Comcast announced a spin-off of NBCUniversal prompting the stock to skyrocket early Monday.
The new company will be a new version of NBCUniversal alongside Sky — its European media arm — will be a new publicly traded company, according to CNN. During pre-market trading Comcast shares soared 17%, with the gains dipping to 9% after the market opened, CNBC reported.
The new company contains Universal movie studios and theme parks, the Peacock streaming service and NBC, Telemundo and Bravo, per CNN.
The separation “will unlock a more entrepreneurial management approach and open up a multitude of new opportunities for each business,” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts told the outlet.
“Both companies begin this next chapter from positions of strength. Comcast will continue to build on its leadership in connectivity, while NBCUniversial, together with Sky, will have the scale, brands, content and financial resource to compete as a premier global media and entertain ment company,” Mike Cavanaugh, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation, said in a press release.
The spinoff is planned out to take the course of the year, Comcast told CNN.
“Comcast expects to retain a stake of up to 19.9% ownership position in NBCUniversal for up to one year after completion of the spin, which it intends to monetize in a tax-efficient manner over time,” the press release said.
Over the recent years, Comcast’s stock has struggled with Wall Street skepticism about its ability to compete with companies like Netflix but investors welcomed the spinoff announcement, increasing 20% in premarket trading Monday, according to CNN.
This is not Comcast’s first major spinoff in recent years. In 2025 NBC News cut jobs after Comcast approved a roughly $7 billion spinoff of their cable networks, which followed rating decline at MSNBC in 2024.
Michael Angelakis, former chief financial officer, plans to rejoin the Comcast company after the media company is fully separated, CNN reported.
“Together, we will build on those strengths, execute aggressively, invest for growth and pursue new opportunities to create value for our customers, colleagues and shareholders,” Angelakis said in the press release.
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