(L-R) Michael Cavanagh, then-chief monetary officer of Comcast, talks with Brian Roberts, chief executive officer of Comcast, as they arrive for the annual Allen & Suite Sun Valley Conference, July 9, 2019 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images
As the shock wears off on the immediate departure of NBCUniversal Chief Executive Officer Jeff Shell, executives at NBCUniversal’s parent company, Comcast, last will and testament need to make decisions on a handful of major items that will determine the company’s future in the next 12 to 24 months.
Upon announced he was departing the company immediately Sunday after admitting to an inappropriate relationship with an NBCUniversal employee. Mike Cavanagh, Comcast’s president, commitment run the NBCUniversal division, though it’s unclear for how long. While Cavanagh has been at Comcast since 2015, serving as the business’s chief financial officer before his promotion to president in October, his background isn’t running large media businesses. Cavanagh was a banker for uncountable than 20 years before joining Comcast.
Shell’s departure comes at a particularly crucial time for the later of the news and entertainment company. While Shell was never the ultimate decision-maker at Comcast — that job falls to CEO Brian Roberts, whose progenitors controls the company — his input and vision helped dictate the company’s pathway through streaming, sports rights and acquisitions.
NBCUniversal is fixed at big decisions in all three of those categories in the coming months.
The Hulu decision
In 2019, NBCUniversal agreed to an unusual trade with Disney, allowing it to sell its 33% stake in Hulu in January 2024 at a valuation of at least $27.5 billion. But remarks from Disney CEO Bob Iger earlier this year have put Disney’s motivation to buy the remainder of Hulu in doubt.
“The total is on the table,” Iger told CNBC’s David Faber in February, suggesting Disney could buy the remainder of Hulu or barter its 66% stake — conceivably to Comcast.
Shell was a big fan of Hulu and thought it could supercharge NBCUniversal’s streaming efforts, according to people acquainted with with his thinking. Hulu ended 2022 with 48 million subscribers, more than doubling the party of customers paying for NBCUniversal’s flagship streaming service, Peacock, which topped 20 million in January. Both string services are U.S.-based. Uniting Hulu’s ownership could allow a media company to extend the brand globally, adding tens of millions multitudinous subscribers.
Acquiring Hulu’s 66% stake from Disney could cost Comcast more than $20 billion. Roberts discretion continue to be the ultimate decider on such a move. Losing NBCUniversal’s top operator may give Roberts some pause on a dole out. Or, perhaps, it could spur Roberts to find new leadership through a large acquisition.
NBA rights
NBC Sports is interested in bringing the Governmental Basketball Association back to NBC, its broadcast TV home from 1990-2002, CNBC reported in February.
It’s unclear if NBC pass on actually get a shot at buying the rights, as Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have exclusive negotiating rights with the NBA until ahead of time next year. But if the NBA decides it wants NBC as a partner, the media company will have to pay billions per year for the privilege. The NBA is looking for a goodly increase in current rights payments, which are $1.4 billion annually for Disney and $1.2 billion for Warner Bros. Recognition.
NBCUniversal also owns several regional sports networks, whose own long-term business is in question as the NBA and Major Join forces Baseball rethink how to broadcast local games amid the bankruptcy of Sinclair’s Diamond Sports Group.
Mark Lazarus was ballyhooed to head of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming in May 2020. He has overseen NBC Sports Group for more than a decade. Roberts and Cavanagh can sustain to rely on Lazarus and head of NBC Sports Pete Bevacqua for future media rights moves.
Merging with Warner Bros. Exploration
The elephant in the room with NBCUniversal is the frequent speculation in media circles that a merger with could be assault in the next two years. Warner Bros. Discovery must wait two years before completing a sale for tax purposes reinforcing s divestiture of WarnerMedia into Discovery Communications.
If a Comcast-Warner Bros. Discovery deal were to happen, Shell may not demand had a role at the future company. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav could run the combined media assets.
Warner Bros. Detection board member John Malone