Jump to content

Comcast Considering Spinning Off Cable Networks


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, Hometown News said:

I'm less sure what the strategy is with USA and CNBC. USA seems to just be a dumping ground now for the sporting events that used to air on NBCSN, so maybe they think they can just move all that content to Peacock and viewers will get used to it. There isn't an obvious replacement for CNBC and unlike the others, it's an international brand.

 

CNBC, from a strategy pov, could embrace being the Consumer News and Business Channel and be fine moving forward. It's MSNBC, USA and Syfy that would require some serious work.

 

MSNBC needs a 'news' component and if they don't plan to combine resources with CNBC, then I'm not sure how successful the network will be without a news partner. Couple with a likely name change, if I was an employee at MSNBC, I would be very worried. USA and Syfy will require original programming to grow and prosper and hopefully there are big plans in the works for them.

 

Overall, there are a lot of unanswered questions surrounding this new company....

 

  • Like 2
4 hours ago, Hometown News said:

 

For MSNBC, it might be that their opinion shows are hurting the brand of both the NBC network news and the affiliates' local news operations by association while no longer bringing in enough ratings to justify it. I'm just guessing, but I do recall reading years ago that FOX affiliates have complained about viewers confusing them with FOX News Channel, so it isn't a farfetched idea.

 

I'm less sure what the strategy is with USA and CNBC. USA seems to just be a dumping ground now for the sporting events that used to air on NBCSN, so maybe they think they can just move all that content to Peacock and viewers will get used to it. There isn't an obvious replacement for CNBC and unlike the others, it's an international brand.

 

It's positive that NBC News will no longer have a left-wing cable operation dragging down its reputation as a 'neutral" news network.

 

However, I haven't seen much distrust of NBC affiliates because of MSNBC, as much as I see distrust of Fox affiliates because of Fox News Channel. 

 

While average news viewers I speak to know that MSNBC is biased, they don't have such a strong rebuke for it as they do with the Fox News Channel.

 

I wonder what the future looks like for MSNBC and CNBC? Being renamed could severely impact their brand recognition. 

 

At least NBC can focus its 24/7 news on NBC News Now, a non-partisan operation.

Edited by MediaZone4K
  • Haha 1
11 minutes ago, MediaZone4K said:

It's positive that NBC News will no longer have a left-wing cable operation dragging down its reputation as a 'neutral" news network.

 

However, I haven't seen much distrust of NBC affiliates because of MSNBC, as much as I see distrust of Fox affiliates because of Fox News Channel.

 

I haven't seen any distrust of NBC affiliates because of MSNBC.

 

As for USA and Syfy, I think it's now even more likely that Syfy's remaining programming will be folded into USA and its channel space flipped into something else.

 

  • Like 2
  • Sad 1
4 hours ago, Hometown News said:

 

For MSNBC, it might be that their opinion shows are hurting the brand of both the NBC network news and the affiliates' local news operations by association while no longer bringing in enough ratings to justify it. I'm just guessing, but I do recall reading years ago that FOX affiliates have complained about viewers confusing them with FOX News Channel, so it isn't a farfetched idea.

The problem with MSNBC is well before the opinion days when the affiliates were pitched on MSNBC helping to jumpstart their web efforts and giving them a solid place to highlight breaking news with affiliate coverage taking more precedence over sending network folks out, and a promise not to compete with them...

 

A promise that crashed with TWA 800, Diana, and then was done with 9/11 (and Zucker and the network egos shooting down affiliate spotlighting because they HAD to be there). All the affiliate spotlights are but a memory, and for better or for worse a few platforms and Wordpress control local news websites. And for the most part they never promote MSNBC because that ship has sailed with NBCNews.com.

 

Since then the affiliates have seen it both as competition and dragging down NBC News because of those broken promises; NBC News Now seems much more accommodating and proper to them and their needs, along with whatever disasterpiece of a national news website their owners foist upon them. I do think NBC News Now is the future for NBC News, while MSNBC will end up with some kind of shift away from NBC.

 

CNBC I could finally see just becoming a dayside-only network or for that CNBC World merger to take place; maybe its future with properties like the MLB and NBA moving to in-house management of their teams will be having CNBC during the day, those games at night on cable providers, like back in the 80s when time-share made more sense. Outside the Reddit oddballs there has never been a need to cover the market after the bell, no matter what they've tried outside of Kramer.


I'm curious about Oxygen though with the severing of their connection to the mothership and if they just become a licensed brand to throw true crime around or stay over-the-air. And with no mention of Universal KIds even as a Peacock vertical, it's done.

  • Like 1
10 minutes ago, mrschimpf said:

All the affiliate spotlights are but a memory, and for better or for worse a few platforms and Wordpress control local news websites.

 

WordPress (the software) doesn't "control" local news websites. It's a content management system. And WordPress VIP, which I believe the CBS O&O sites run on, is a managed hosting service built on top of the WordPress software. Neither of them has any say in what content appears on any website that uses them.

 

I'm sure the same goes for the other CMSses out there.

 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
50 minutes ago, mre29 said:

I haven't seen any distrust of NBC affiliates because of MSNBC.

And that always bugged me because MSNBC, CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS all push agendas, they're just not as blatant and conspiracy-driven as Fox News. 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1

There has been quite a few stories over time about tension between NBC News & MSNBC, and it goes both ways. NBC News doesn't just think MSNBC is hurting their reputation, MSNBC has problems with decisions by NBC News. 

 

This even sometimes extends on air. One public example I can think of: The NBC Trump town hall in 2020 that aired directly against the ABC Biden town hall. Whenever it was mentioned on MSNBC the point was made to say that the town hall was being produced by NBC News and not MSNBC.  At the end of Joy Reid's show before the town hall began, they refused to mention the town hall at all and at the end of the show showed a graph promoting MSNBC's primetime lineup for the night with the town hall not included. After the town hall Rachel Maddow started her show reminding her viewers that the town hall was a production of NBC News and not MSNBC and how MSNBC is run separately. The Ronna McDaniel hiring by NBC is another example, multiple hosts didn't just attack NBC News for hiring her, but made it clear that while she would be appearing on NBC News, she would not be welcome on MSNBC. 

 

Ever since NBC News Now launched, most of the synergy between NBC News & MSNBC faded away. Yes they often will share reporters, but they each produce separate political news coverage, and even major non-political news coverage is produced separately. The primetime MSNBC shows utilize reporting from outlets like The New York Times, ABC News, Washington Post, etc. just as much as if not more than reporting from NBC News. The biggest changes for viewers will be the name of the network & studio they broadcast from. The main draw to the network is the primetime hosts. I don't think the network has to worry about losing viewers because they no longer have access to NBC News coverage. They can rely on outlets like Reuters, Associated Press, etc.. and form partnerships with other international broadcasters. They are already saying they could acquire a local station group, and they could at least partner with one. 

 

Lots of examples of synergies that will need to be changed, E! News & NBC's Access Hollywood share production staff & studio, Dateline produces episodes for Oxygen True Crime. But in my view nothing about the breakup is insurmountable

Edited by Reweivvt88
  • Like 1
17 hours ago, mre29 said:

 

I haven't seen any distrust of NBC affiliates because of MSNBC.

 

As for USA and Syfy, I think it's now even more likely that Syfy's remaining programming will be folded into USA and its channel space flipped into something else.

 

That is partially because there were never clear distinctions and much of any independence on the part of MSNBC. They have mismanaged that place repeatedly and not let it really stand on its own while it’s supposed to be separate but together at the same time. They’ve never really handled it right. A place like FOX is the only one in the family doing News. They don’t have some kind of other entity to tiptoe around. 
 

Had they been smart they would have rebranded it without references or logos of NBC and changed the slogan to some permutation of “where liberals have a voice” or something like that and programmed accordingly. 

Edited by ns8401

According to this article, Comcast will retain ownership at first.  

 

https://golf.com/news/nbc-owners-spin-off-golf-channel-whats-next/?amp=1

 

Is it possible that Comcast would retain a minority stake in the new company that will allow msnbc & cnbc to retain their names,  & have USA network & golf channel continue to air NBC sports programs?

On 11/20/2024 at 11:30 PM, Reweivvt88 said:

Lots of examples of synergies that will need to be changed, E! News & NBC's Access Hollywood share production staff & studio, [...]

 

I'm not sure that really needs to change at all. For one thing, isn't Access Hollywood syndicated?

 

On 11/22/2024 at 4:30 PM, mre29 said:

 

I'm not sure that really needs to change at all. For one thing, isn't Access Hollywood syndicated?

 

It’s produced by NBCU and sold to O&Os and on the sindie market.  I’m sure NBCU can produce E News for a fee out of the Universal lot. 

Edited by NowBergen

As others have said I always thought NBC News thought of MSNBC as the stepchild and didn't really like them that much their living sperate lives for many years now. I was surprised that that they wanted to spin CNBC & MSNBC along with USA Network. But I guess they did that so the new company had some major networks than just the smaller cable networks.

 

As some have mention FOX local TV stations and FOX News and thinking that there all the same, I know the difference one was entertainment with sports as I like to call it Big FOX & one with conservative news FOX News on cable. The only 2 don't really mention FOX in the name is FOX in Boston going by 25 News & WSVN in Miami.  

  • Like 1

It's so wild to me to see USA described as a "smaller" network when it was one of the pillars of cable for decades and it wasn't even a decade ago that they still had big hits like Mr. Robot, to say nothing of the Netflix-fueled resurgence of Suits.

  • Like 2
23 minutes ago, channel2 said:

It's so wild to me to see USA described as a "smaller" network when it was one of the pillars of cable for decades and it wasn't even a decade ago that they still had big hits like Mr. Robot, to say nothing of the Netflix-fueled resurgence of Suits.

 

Cable cutting has reached peak.

  • Like 1
1 hour ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

 

Cable cutting has reached peak.

And you can't even blame consumers because look at what cable has to offer. Nothing but movie and tv reruns, and a handful of networks still doing reality shows and  scripted programming. 

 

The only cable networks putting out something worth watching are FX and HBO. 

51 minutes ago, MediaZone4K said:

And you can't even blame consumers because look at what cable has to offer. Nothing but movie and tv reruns, and a handful of networks still doing reality shows and  scripted programming.

 

"Handful"?  More like "way too many"....

 

52 minutes ago, MediaZone4K said:

The only cable networks putting out something worth watching are FX and HBO. 

 

And, yet, FX still devotes way too much of their primetime schedule to endless repeats of popular genre movies from the last few decades, while multiple flavors of HBO keep chewing up cable companies' bandwidth.

 

  • Like 4
  • Haha 1

IDK if this has been asked yet but will MSNBC remain at Rockefeller Center when it cuts ries with NBC/Comcast?  

 

What happens with CNBC's NJ HQ, assuming that's still in operation?

Edited by MediaZone4K
  • Like 1

According to this article,  msnbc is not for sale.   The network along with the other cable networks will still be owned by Comcast shareholders, just a separate stand alone company. 

 

https://www.newsweek.com/would-marc-cuban-buy-msnbc-billionaire-reacts-elon-musk-1991930

3 hours ago, JTT said:

According to this article,  msnbc is not for sale.   The network along with the other cable networks will still be owned by Comcast shareholders, just a separate stand alone company. 

 

https://www.newsweek.com/would-marc-cuban-buy-msnbc-billionaire-reacts-elon-musk-1991930

Everything is for sale at the right price. It’s not “just” going to be a standalone. Whether it is a buyer or seller or both over time is all crystal-ball stuff, but there’s no way there won’t be deals entertained if they’re serious viable offers. 

  • Like 1
  • 2 weeks later...

CNBC has announced a CNBC+ service today which will launch in the spring; no pricing yet, or if the existing Pro service will be discontinued, but it'll feature a full-time market feed across the world's CNBC channels.

On 11/25/2024 at 2:05 PM, Megatron81 said:

As others have said I always thought NBC News thought of MSNBC as the stepchild and didn't really like them that much their living sperate lives for many years now. I was surprised that that they wanted to spin CNBC & MSNBC along with USA Network. But I guess they did that so the new company had some major networks than just the smaller cable networks.

 

As some have mention FOX local TV stations and FOX News and thinking that there all the same, I know the difference one was entertainment with sports as I like to call it Big FOX & one with conservative news FOX News on cable. The only 2 don't really mention FOX in the name is FOX in Boston going by 25 News & WSVN in Miami.  

 

WBRC barely mentions Fox on air anymore either, which is puzzling since it's a very conservative market overall, but I guess they feel like they don't gain as much as they would potentially lose.

  • Confused 1

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using Local News Talk you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.