Comcast Bosses Say NBCU-Cable Separation ‘Absolutely Not’ Designed to Pursue M&A Deals; ‘We’ve Now Simply Changed Our Mind’ That the Businesses Are Better Together
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- Comcast announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky into a stand-alone entity, separating its media business from cable and broadband, with the separation expected to close by mid-2027.
- Brian Roberts said the board answered "yes" to three gating questions — whether each business can stand alone, has a viable capital allocation path, and whether now is the right time — before approving the split.
- Mike Cavanagh, currently Comcast co-CEO, will become chief executive of NBCU after the spin-off, telling analysts leadership "simply changed our mind" about the scale benefits of running media and telecom as one company.
- Michael Angelakis, Comcast's former CFO and current Atairos Group chairman/CEO, will return as CEO of the remaining Comcast Cable business following the separation, joining immediately as a strategic adviser.
- Roberts rejected analyst suggestions that the split is a stalking horse for future deals, declaring it "absolutely not" a prelude to strategic transactions and saying each company will instead pursue "aggressive" organic growth.
- Peacock is on track to hit profitability in Q2 2026, less than six years after its launch, according to Roberts on the analyst call.
- The announcement follows Comcast's January 2026 spin-off of Versant Media — which includes CNBC, MS NOW, and USA Network — and its failed December 2025 bid for Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming and studios assets.
Why it matters: This unspools the most ambitious corporate restructuring since Comcast's NBCU takeover 15-plus years ago, and Roberts' explicit M&A denial is clearly aimed at reassuring investors the split isn't a prelude to selling NBCU. Cavanagh, who moves to lead NBCU, inherits a Peacock nearing Q2 2026 profitability and a portfolio that just lost the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war to Netflix and then Paramount Skydance.
