Comcast's Big Split: NBCUniversal's Choices for Survival
Comcast is splitting NBCUniversal away from its cable business. Like Fox or Paramount Skydance, the company only wins its next chapter if it finds the right partner, fast.
[Author’s Note: I am currently on holiday. I will begin publishing on July 13th.
As longtime subscribers may recall, my rule is try not to publish when on holiday unless something newsworthy happens. The news of the Comcast split hits on a few recent themes so I am sending an abridged version for my paid subscribers below.]
On Monday Comcast announced that it plans to separate NBCUniversal and Sky from its connectivity (Cable, Broadband, Mobile) businesses.
Comcast Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh told investors that there was no longer a strategic rationale for its “flywheel” model across Cable, Theatrical and Theme Parks: “where previously we believed that the scale and diversification benefits warranted operating these businesses as one company, we now have simply changed our mind about that.”
In a separate memo to employees, he outlined an aggressive vision to “play offense and move with urgency”: “With a strong balance sheet and a public company stock, we will have the resources and flexibility to pursue the growth opportunities we believe in most.”
The not-so-subtle is that a Comcast as large media company no longer can extract marginal value from a library of IP. So, NBCU will pursue traditional paths of mergers and acquisitions to grow the business. But in this market where the value of IP is being aggressively re-imagined by Bollywood, Paramount Skydance and 1.2 billion people using the internet for the first time, what should Comcast do?
