Comcast announced on June 28, 2026 that it will split into two separate companies. One will own its internet and cable infrastructure. The other will own its entertainment businesses—NBC, Universal Studios, and Sky, the European TV service—and operate as a standalone public company according to the company.

The company gave no details yet on how many shares each new company will get, or when the split will actually happen.

What's Being Separated

Think of Comcast as two different engines bolted together: one that delivers internet and cable to homes, and another that makes and sells entertainment content.

The entertainment company will get NBC's broadcast network, Universal's film studios and theme parks, and Sky's TV and streaming services across the UK, Germany, and Italy. It will also run Peacock, Comcast's streaming platform.

The new Comcast will keep the infrastructure side—the cables running to homes, the internet service, and the technology platform that manages all of it. This will be a more traditional utility-like business with steady, predictable revenue from monthly bills.

The split likely will happen as a tax-free distribution to current Comcast shareholders, though the company hasn't confirmed the details. Regulators will need to sign off on the deal because NBC operates broadcast licenses in the U.S., and Sky has to comply with broadcasting rules in three European countries.

Why Split Now

Comcast bought NBCUniversal between 2011 and 2013 for roughly $30 billion. It bought Sky in 2018 for about $39 billion. At that time, owning both the pipes and the content looked smart—one company could use its cable money to fund entertainment and vice versa.

But the strategy has fallen out of favor. Linear TV advertising—the kind that interrupts your shows—keeps shrinking. Streaming services are expensive to run and often don't make much profit. Cable's internet advantage is also weakening as wireless internet providers like T-Mobile and AT&T roll out competing options.

Other large media companies have already made similar moves. WarnerBros. Discovery has been selling off pieces since its merger in 2022. Paramount merged with Skydance in 2024.

Comcast's board seems to believe the company will be worth more as two focused businesses than as one sprawling company. In the stock market, mixed-bag conglomerates typically get valued lower than companies that do one thing well.

What Happens Next

Separating Peacock is the first big operational problem. Right now, Comcast's cable profits help pay for the streaming platform's losses. Once they're split, the new media company will need Peacock to make money on its own, or it will have to make drastic changes—sell parts of it, license content to other services, or find a partner to buy in.

Sky faces its own challenge. It makes money partly by paying billions to broadcast English Premier League soccer. A smaller, independent company without Comcast's deep pockets will have a harder time renewing those expensive contracts when the time comes.

For the new Comcast, the split clarifies the mission but sharpens the competition. Most people who can get cable internet already do. To grow, Comcast will have to charge more for faster speeds, bundle cheaper ad-supported video services, and sell more managed services to businesses and wireless carriers. None of that requires owning a movie studio.

The announcement left many details unresolved: how debt will be split between the two companies, what happens to shared business deals, and when the separation will close. How those questions get answered will determine whether this split actually makes both companies more valuable, or just reshuffles the same problems into new boxes. Investors and business partners will be waiting for the formal filing to see the fine print.