Comcast is exploring separation of cable networks business

Comcast is exploring a separation of its cable networks business, President Mike Cavanagh said Thursday.

During the company’s third-quarter earnings call with investors, Cavanagh said the company is exploring creating “a new, well-capitalized company owned by our shareholders and comprised of our strong portfolio of cable networks.”

The possible separation would not include broadcast network NBC nor streaming service Peacock, he added. NBCUniversal’s cable networks portfolio includes Bravo, E!, Syfy, Oxygen True Crime and USA Network, as well as news networks MSNBC and CNBC.

The comments come as millions of customers continue to flee the traditional pay TV bundle in favor of streaming. Comcast has been beefing up its streaming service Peacock, which got a boost during the third quarter when it exclusively aired the Summer Olympics in Paris.

Shares of Comcast were up more than 3% in early trading Thursday.

The company lost 365,000 cable TV customers during the third quarter. The pain has been felt across the industry.

Analyst firm MoffettNathanson estimated there were 4 million traditional pay TV subscriber losses in the first six months of the year, calling it “a mindboggling total.” That includes 2.37 million losses in the first quarter, considered the worst-ever quarter for defections from the bundle.

In August, Warner Bros. Discovery booked a $9.1 billion write-down of its TV networks, triggered by the reevaluation of the book value of the segment.

“Like many of our peers in media, we are experiencing the effects of the transition in our video businesses and have been studying the best path forward for these assets,” Cavanagh said Thursday. “We are not ready to talk about any specifics yet, but we’ll be back to you as and when we reach firm conclusions.”

Cavanagh noted that Comcast had stayed out of the fray earlier this year during a back-and-forth sales process for Paramount Global — the storied media company that includes a film studio, portfolio of cable networks and streaming services.

Cavanagh added that the company is considering streaming partnerships, but due to the complicated nature of those deals the company is simply “open to them” at this point.

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

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