Insidus Plus
A content creator that specialises in news and entertainment
Thursday, November 21, 2024
DreamWorks, Telemundo, CNBC, MSNBC, Universal TV And Studio Universal May Have To Undergo A Name Change Under Comcast's Spun Off Company
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
"SpinCo": Comcast Unveils Spun Off Company Home To Brands Like MSNBC And E!
How Comcast Plans To Ditch Several NBCUniversal Channels Affects DStv?
Comcast Plans Massive Cable Spin-Off, Separating USA, MSNBC and More From NBC, Theme Parks
Comcast is planning to spin off most of its cable television networks, including MSNBC and CNBC, into a separate publicly traded company, according to executives with knowledge of the plan.
The spinoff is expected to be formally announced on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the impending announcement on Tuesday evening, said the involved channels also include USA, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal division is keeping Bravo, the NBC broadcast network, the Peacock streaming service, and all of its other assets, like NBC Sports and the Universal theme parks.
The separate cable channel company will have the same sort of ownership structure as Comcast, but will have its own management team, led by NBCUniversal Media Group chairman Mark Lazarus, who will become CEO of the new venture.
While observers may view the spinoff as an attempt to shed cable channels that are losing value in the streaming age, the channels still contribute strong profits to Comcast’s bottom line. The company’s executives are expected to portray the spinoff as a growth opportunity for an industry in transition, with an eye toward acquiring other channels in the future.
Of course, the standalone cable network venture could also attract buyers as well as sellers. Wall Street analysts are predicting further consolidation of major media companies in the years ahead.
Comcast president Mike Cavanaugh foreshadowed the spinoff during a conference call with investors last month. He said the company was going to study whether it was a good idea to create “a new well-capitalized company that would go to our shareholders” comprised of “our cable portfolio networks.”
The study evidently did not take long.
Craig Moffett, an analyst with MoffettNathanson, told Variety that “investors have yearned for exactly this, or at least something close to it, for years.”
Notably, the spinoff will cleave MSNBC and CNBC, two profitable parts of the NBCUniversal News Group, away from the core news-gathering operation of NBC News. In recent years NBC has tried to bring its broadcast and cable news operations closer together. Now they may be peeled back apart.
WildEarth Might Be Looking To Relaunch On DStv Before The End Of November
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Could M-Net Be Winding Down As Canal+ Looks To Bulk Up StudioCanal Operations Through MultiChoice?
StudioCanal is a production company which very much like M-Net or MultiChoice Studios curates originals ranging from films or television series. It has established it's presence in US, UK and parts of Europe with plans underway to extend their reach to more African markets through their acquisition of MultiChoice.
For those who are unfamiliar, StudioCanal is home to Paddington this was after Canal+ had bought rights to the franchise in 2016. They're also responsible for a number of productions including Spinners (from M-Net), Bridget Jones, Escape From New York and Terminator: Judgement Day.
In their prospectus published on 31 October 2024, Canal+ had outlined plans to leverage StudioCanal's expertise onto MultiChoice which would see the company building up on IPs that can attract a vast majority of households. MultiChoice has so far made local adaptations of The Real Housewives and Big Brother and Canal+ wants to expand.
I think the only question at this point is where does this leave M-Net as it has been a curator of local content seen on Mzansi Magic, KykNet and Africa Magic and also distributed international content from NBC, HBO and CBS Studios. For now, we anticipate that they'll keep the M-Net trademark intact but overtime that might change.
Usually ahead of overhauls/rebrands, a TV channel makes some adjustments to their lineup to avoid any scandal with the media. That's what happened to 1Magic and Me before it merged to form 1Max same with Boomerang before transitioning to Cartoonito there was always content on the side to embark this change.
For now content on KykNet and Mzansi Magic will be branded as M-Net originals but once this takeover concludes it could fold under Canal+ and there wouldn't be much of an M-Net left as their lineup expands. As for M-Net 101, I'd imagine it being an import for Canal+'s operations in Europe as they've licensed content there before.
MultiChoice wants to compete on a global scale and they're trusting this transaction with Canal+ will help in those efforts. I doubt remaining shareholders will oppose such a scenario as Canal+ would form part of MultiChoice and any success for one party is as much as a success for the rest.