Comcast Considering Spinning Off Cable Networks To Separate Company

Comcast is considering spinning off its cable networks such as USA Network and SYFY into a separate company. Deadline reports that Comcast President Mike Cavanagh revealed the news during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

“Like many of our peers in media, we’re experiencing the effects of the transition of our video businesses and have been studying the best path forward for these assets,” Cavanagh said. “To that end, we are now exploring whether creating a new, well-capitalized company owned by our shareholders and comprised of our strong portfolio of cable networks would position them to take advantage of opportunities in the media landscape and create value for our shareholders. We are not ready to talk about any specifics yet, but we’ll be back to you as and when we reach firm conclusions.”

Such a company, if it were to come to pass, would also presumably include the likes of Bravo, Oxygen, and E!. The move comes as cable revenue has fallen due to cord-cutting and other aspects of the business.

Wrestling fans would of course know USA Network as the home to WWE Smackdown as well as Raw until January, when the show will move to Netflix. USA Network was also the home of NXT until it moved to The CW at the start of October.