{"id":120669,"date":"2024-11-01T02:57:44","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T19:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=120669"},"modified":"2024-11-01T02:57:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T19:57:44","slug":"before-nbcu-considered-spinning-off-cable-networks-it-shut-many-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=120669","title":{"rendered":"Before NBCU Considered Spinning Off Cable Networks, It Shut Many Down"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tUnlike its rivals, <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/nbcuniversal\/\" id=\"auto-tag_nbcuniversal\" data-tag=\"nbcuniversal\">NBCUniversal<\/a> long ago developed a healthy fear of zombies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tNot the shambling, undead kind that lurch around trying to eat brains, but rather the media variety: \u201cUndead\u201d cable networks that long ago gave up all hopes of cultivating audiences around the clock and instead run only a few hours of original programming, coupled with seemingly endless repeats of TV favorites, like \u201cRidiculousness\u201d (MTV); \u201cFear Factor\u201d (HLN); or \u201cSeinfeld\u201d (Comedy Central).<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/paramount-global\/\" id=\"auto-tag_paramount-global\" data-tag=\"paramount-global\">Paramount Global<\/a> and Warner Bros. Discovery, two of the bigger owners of these cable-network wraiths, haven\u2019t had much to show for keeping them up and running. Indeed, Warner in August unveiled a <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2024\/tv\/news\/warner-bros-discovery-ceo-david-zaslav-tough-tactics-nba-cnn-1236106600\/\">massive $9.1 billion write-down of its TV assets<\/a>, citing business headwinds as well as the projected loss of its lucrative agreement with the NBA to show games on its cable networks. Paramount Global followed suit, <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2024\/tv\/news\/paramount-cable-write-down-5-98-billion-skydance-1236100574\/\">revealing a $5.98 billion impairment charge<\/a> as it prepared for its acquisition by Skydance Media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tNBCU hasn\u2019t disclosed a write-down yet, and one reason why is that the company has for years been shutting down underperforming cable networks with little sentimental attachment to them.  <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2016\/tv\/news\/2016-tv-upfront-nbc-advertising-steve-burke-1201824395\/\">\u201cThere are just too many channels,\u201d<\/a> said Steve Burke, the former NBCU CEO in 2016, after the company had scuttled Style and G4. Also gone: Esquire, Cloo and Chiller. In 2021, NBCU raised eyebrows by announcing plans to close NBCSN \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2021\/tv\/news\/nbcsn-shut-down-sports-tv-usa-1234890506\/\"><em>a sports network<\/em>! <\/a>The theory: sports broadcasts would bolster the NBC broadcast network, the USA cable channel and the Peacock streaming service (Narrator: \u201cThey have.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tNow, <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/comcast\/\" id=\"auto-tag_comcast\" data-tag=\"comcast\">Comcast<\/a>, NBCU\u2019s parent, will consider a possible spin off of its cable portfolio, the company disclosed Thursday during a call with investors. The idea, said Comcast president Mike Cavanagh, is to analyze what the effects of such a transaction might be before coming to a decision. \u201c\u2018There may be some smart things to do and we want to study that,\u201d he said. The news almost immediately spurred speculation that Warner Bros. Discovery or Skydance might want to acquire such assets, though Cavanagh emphasized the intent \u2014 if a decision is reached \u2014 would be to give the new company to shareholders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cInvestors have yearned for exactly this, or at least something close to it, for years,\u201d said Craig Moffett, an analyst with MoffettNathanson. A deal such as this would uncouple Peacock and NBCU\u2019s sports properties from the eroding economics of cable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tIt\u2019s no secret that stand-alone cable networks have become complex but toxic assets in the modern media lineup. They continue to generate millions in advertising and distribution revenue, but they require millions in content spend to keep up their ratings at the exact moment that many of their viewers are moving to streaming services. Disney\u2019s FX, for example, was long known for offering signature dramas and edgy series, which it doled out one episode a week at specific times of the year that often synced up with the needs of its producers. Now, most people think of \u201cThe Bear,\u201d a current FX favorite, as something more tied to Hulu, the streaming service owned by parent Walt Disney Co.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tNBCU\u2019s current cable properties aren\u2019t all running full steam ahead. The Universal Kids network has never scaled the heights the company planned when it<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2019\/tv\/news\/universal-kids-originals-dreamworks-animation-content-1203247607\/\"> acquired DreamWorks Animation for $3.89 billion<\/a>. Indeed, NBCU might have been better off keeping the outlet under its previous moniker, Sprout, when it was designed to appeal to preschoolers and their parents. Oxygen, once a network backed by Geraldine Laybourne and Oprah Winfrey and created to appeal to female audiences, is more or less a cookie-cutter true-crime outlet in which rivals have a stronger perch. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tBut there are still some good businesses to be found. MSNBC and CNBC have die-hard audiences, and USA, though no longer known as the home for \u201cblue-sky\u201d dramas such as \u201cBurn Notice\u201d or \u201cWhite Collar,\u201d still brings in sizable crowds with sports and the return of \u201cWWE SmackDown.\u201d Bravo has cultivated a die-hard fan club of people who want to scoop up every detail of whatever edition of \u201cReal Housewives\u201d is on the schedule.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tComcast may be wondering if it can avoid some of the challenges that have been faced by Disney. Charter Communications gained notice for its more recent carriage negotiations with the company, in which Disney agreed to make Disney + and ESPN+ available to some of its distributor\u2019s subscribers, while giving Charter the leeway to<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/tv\/news\/disney-charter-settle-cable-dispute-espn-monday-night-football-1235719696\/\"> drop cable properties such as Freeform, Disney Junior and Disney XD.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tSpinning off cable would raise some pretty thorny issues. Could NBCU\u2019s news operations still thrive if MSNBC and CNBC were split off from the newsgathering apparatus of NBC News? Doesn\u2019t cable revenue provide valuable dollars for actual reporting? And do cable and satellite operators have any deals in place that guarantee a certain amount of sports continue to show on USA? <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tCable has cut the value of Paramount and Warner. NBCUniversal might still be able to wring some new benefit from the medium if executives play their hand appropriately. Comcast and NBCUniversal have the luxury of being able to scrutinize such stuff, because, unlike their competitors, they didn\u2019t whistle past the graveyard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2024\/tv\/news\/nbcuniversal-comcast-cable-spinoff-shut-down-warner-discovery-paramount-1236196378\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unlike its rivals, NBCUniversal long ago developed a healthy fear of zombies. Not the shambling, undead kind that lurch around trying to eat brains, but rather the media variety: \u201cUndead\u201d &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=120669\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=120669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120669\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=120669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=120669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=120669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}