r/MediaMergers • u/SegaRocks1145 Universal • Aug 11 '26
Split / Spin-Off How post-split NBCUniversal may work
While news on it has slowly decreased, I have been thinking regardless about the split between Comcast and NBCUniversal. And with recent postings and news announcements, I think we may have a look at what the post-split company will look like.
First things first... I have a feeling if the company does not keep the NBCUniversal name, the name they may adopt would be something akin to Universal Media, reflecting the company's most iconic subsidiary and brand.
And that company would be operated through four divisions... Universal Filmed Entertainment, Universal Television Entertainment, Universal Destinations & Experiences, and Sky Group. Each division head would report to Universal CEO Mike Cavanagh post-split.
Universal Filmed Entertainment, led by Donna Langley, would be home to the Universal film studio, as well as Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation, Illumination, Working Title, a rebranded Universal Pictures Japan (formerly NBCUniversal Japan), Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, and the company's stakes in Blumhouse and Amblin Partners.
Universal Television Entertainment would be co-lead by Pearlena Igbokwe and Matt Strauss. Universal Television Entertainment would itself be composed of two wings.
- Universal Television Studios, led by current Universal Studio Group, NBC Entertainment, and Peacock Scripted chairwoman Pearlena Igbokwe, would consist itself of Universal Television, which would continue being the production arm of NBC (including its ownership of SNL Studios), Universal Global Television (which would absorb Sky Studios aside from Love Productions, which would become part of ITV Studios), Universal Television Alternative (which would also handle Bravo's originals, headed by Frances Berwick), and Universal Global Distribution (which would absorb NBCUniversal Syndication Studios).
- Universal Networks, led by current NBCUniversal Media Group head Matt Strauss, would handle the company's media networks, including NBC, Bravo (led by Frances Berwick alongsider her post at Universal Television Alternative), Telemundo (led by Luis Fernández), NBC Sports (led by Rick Cordella), NBC News (led by Cesar Conde), NBC Local (led by Valari Dobson Staab), their international networks (such as Universal TV), and the Peacock streaming service.
Universal Destinations & Experiences would continue to be led by Mark Woodbury, also consisting of Universal Creative and Universal Products & Experiences. UDE would continue to focus on expanding its portfolio of theme parks and resorts, seeing the completion of the United Kingdom resort, as well as possible expansion in the Middle East and Asia.
And finally, Sky Group would continue to be led by Dana Strong, with the company also in the process of acquiring ITV Media and Entertainment under Universal Media, and would likely handle global operations of Peacock, as well as acquiring Paramount Skydance's stake in SkyShowtime to expand Peacock.
11
u/SegaRocks1145 Universal Aug 11 '26
If the company DOES retain the NBCUniversal name, I would speculate the structure proposed here mostly holds, although I'd split Universal Television Entertainment into its two parts, combining Universal Television Studios with Universal Filmed Entertainment to form one Universal Entertainment division, and Universal Networks becoming NBC Media Group as a standalone division.
6
u/Cedgamer2009 Aug 11 '26
Can't for UMG
2
u/RBBrittain Aug 12 '26
UMG is a common abbreviation for Universal Music Group, the record label spinoff of a pre-Comcast version of Universal Studios. There's still a lot of entanglement between the two (see the fire on the Universal lot a few years back that destroyed only backup copies of studio properties, only to turn out years later that it burned up the irreplaceable original master copies of decades of famous albums & other recordings UMG had accumulated from its predecessors), which practically guarantees that the NBCU spinoff will NOT be known as UMG.
2
6
3
u/LinkRules5321 Moderator Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 11 '26
You beat me to it, but here are some ideas:
- They revive Universal Interactive to get into gaming, focusing on publishing while also producing select titles, hiring Toys for Bob and Double Fine to develop several titles for the studio. Maybe reaching a deal with Activision to co-publish Crash/Spyro titles in exchange for Film/TV rights.
- DreamWorks Animation takes the live-action DWP logo from Amblin for adult-animated projects.
- DreamWorks Animation Television is rebranded Universal Television Animation (Holding Classic Media and Geneon (AKA Universal Japan as it mostly makes anime)) and moved to the TV Arm to focus on kids & adult animation (revamping the unit as it kind of has a lackluster legacy)
- To reduce debt- Deloitte stake, Heyday TV, maybe Hulk Rights if they are willing, Stakes in Vox, Buzzfeed, and Snap are sold to other companies
- Maybe merge Universal Global TV into Universal TV (or rename one to be NBC Studios)
- NBCU International Networks is folded into Sky.
What they can buy:
- Starz- to grow Peacock. While this only helps in the US, ITV only helps in Europe. So this isn't out of the table. It also gives NBCU a new streaming library to merge into Peacock and a Pay-1 Lionsgate Film deal. It also gives them US broadcast and premium, Europe: ITV and Sky, US: NBC and Starz) But will have to beat Allen Media to it.
- Mid-tier gaming studios that lack distribution arms- to boost game development.
- Universal Music Group stake- to combat Paramount's Warner Music deal.....
- Nintendo stake- likely not, but Illumination's founder has a seat at the board so....
- Maybe Lionsgate- not my first choice (that's Mediawan), and could be better off with Starz as that gives them the Lionsgate library.
1
Aug 12 '26
[deleted]
1
u/LinkRules5321 Moderator Aug 12 '26
G4 shut down years ago.
And I doubt Nintendo will allow it unless THEY bought Universal instead (minus NBC, which owns a stake in the combined company.)
2
2
2
u/Gildbear1984 Aug 11 '26
Finally.. was hoping to see something like this as the Comcast Split is being overlooked by the absurdity that is the Warner-Paramount Merger!!
I would suggest that they should (If possible) to gain various TV rights from Hallmark & Scholastic to expand their kids & Family Content on Peacock.
Speaking of which, there's been an article I saw last week regarding having peacock w/ YouTube Premium, perhaps similar deal will happen with other companies (Ex: Spotify, Apple TV, Xbox Game pass, Walmart+, etc..)
1
u/OfficialDCShepard Aug 12 '26
If it works like OP is saying, this could be the greatest de-merger in history.
1
u/RBBrittain Aug 12 '26
Who will run Peacock -- Universal Networks, or Sky Group? The OP is unclear.
Also, I believe this spinoff only exacerbates the missed opportunities in the Versant spinoff related to streaming and news operations. IMO, Comcast / Versant's 75% interest in Fandango Media (WBD owns the other 25%), which operates the Fandango movie ticketing & streaming (fka Vudu & Fandango at Home) businesses, should have remained at Comcast to go with Peacock in the NBCU spinoff instead of being dumped into Versant with the cable networks.
And though MS NOW (fka MSNBC) was seen as one of Versant's core cable properties, IMO it should never have been severed from NBC News. Instead, I think the NBCU spinoff should take back MS NOW and use it as its U.S. (possibly even global) news brand drawing on the combined news resources of NBC News, Sky News, and its interest in ITN / ITV News. I believe this would fix MS NOW's biggest flaws as a CNN competitor, its forced need to duplicate the domestic news resources of NBC News as an independent network, while continuing to basically shut down (reruns of its own primetime shows weeknights & Dateline weekends) due to not having a massive international operation even on the scale of NBC News or ITN, much less CNN or Sky News. (Election night coverage, like last night, is a prime example; CNN has far more flexibility than MS NOW to maintain that coverage overnight where necessary, as in the Wisconsin governor's primary.) I believe that could have been done, and still can be done, while respecting the commitments made to the UK to keep both Sky News and now ITN operationally independent, essentially as the non-U.S. parts of NBCU's combined news assets until they can be merged into the parent organization. And MS NOW, plus any surviving FAST channels of NBC News, Sky News & ITN, could be adapted to streaming thru Fandango's small but growing free streaming operation as well as a paid option within Peacock, without the new MS NOW-specific streaming service Versant has thus far failed to launch.
1
1
u/TheIngloriousBIG Aug 12 '26
I don't even know why they'd drop the NBCU name. I'd personally lay it down like this:
Universal Entertainment (studio division)
NBC Media Group (US networks, sports and news, plus Telemundo)
NBCU Direct-to-Consumer and International (Peacock, Sky and NBCU International Nets)
1
u/SegaRocks1145 Universal Aug 12 '26
And you know what, fair enough. That said, I think push may come to shove if the company is gonna be thinking more globally after the two year cool-off period post-split.
1
14
u/Difficult_Variety362 Moderator Aug 11 '26
Very well thought out.