American media giant Comcast is set to shut down the cable television arm of NBCUniversal, as the industry continues to struggle with the rise of streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The BBC understands that the plan – to be announced on Wednesday – is to create a new company that will include channels such as MSNBC, CNBC, USA, E!, Syfy and the Golf Channel.
The networks are still profitable and generated combined revenue of $7bn (£5.5bn) in the year to the end of September.
Comcast will retain the NBC broadcast television network, its film and television studios and its theme parks, as well as its Peacock streaming service.
Comcast executives believe the plan will be completed within a year. Their expectation is that Comcast will be better positioned for growth after the spinoff.
It is thought that they believe that the new company will be in a position to buy other cable TV networks that may be sold in the future.
The new company will have NBCUniversal’s media group chairman, Mark Lazarus, as its CEO.
The president of Comcast, Michael Cavanagh, first revealed the plan when he spoke to investors last month.
At the time, Mr Cavanagh said he was looking at a strategy that would create “a new company that is more profitable for our shareholders and integrates our strong portfolio of cable networks”.
Comcast took control of NBCUniversal in 2011 ahead of the broadcast boom. At the time, its cable networks were seen as one of its most attractive businesses.
But a growing number of cable TV viewers are canceling their subscriptions and switching to broadcast platforms.
Comcast is the first media company to make this move.
Earlier this year, Warner Bros. and Paramount Global cut billions of dollars from their cable TV networks.
Walt Disney also considered spinning off its cable networks but ended up abandoning the program.
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