Comcast will announce the spinoff of cable networks Wednesday, CNBC source says

Comcast is moving forward with the spinoff of its cable network channels, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin on Tuesday.

The separation is expected to take about a year, and an announcement from the company could come as early as Wednesday, the person said. The company had announced during its quarterly earnings in October it was considering a split of the cable networks.

The spinoff was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Other networks apart of the spinoff include E!, Syfy, Golf Channel, USA and Oxygen, a person close to the matter said. Bravo will remain part of Comcast’s NBCUniversal since its content is heavily featured on streaming service Peacock, one of the people said.

The spinoff will take roughly a year as the company figures out whether licensing agreements need to be put in place, and whether MSNBC and CNBC will continue to work with NBC News, two of the people said.

The new entity is to be led by Mark Lazarus, the current chairman of NBCUniversal’s media group, one of the people said.

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