Nolte: Comcast Dumps Cratering MSNBC and Other Dying Cable Channels Paula Lobo/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

With the inevitable death of cable TV accelerating, communications giant Comcast has decided to cut its losses and separate from MSNBC and other cable networks.

“Comcast Corporation today announced its intent to create a new publicly traded company comprised of a strong portfolio of NBCUniversal’s cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel,” read a company statement.

Also spinning off into the new company are the “complementary digital assets including Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and Sports Engine[.]”

For now, Comcast is calling this new company “SpinCo.”

Here’s what Comcast will hold onto…

“The planned spin-off will also strategically position NBCUniversal with its leading broadcast and streaming media properties, including NBC entertainment, sports, news and Bravo – which all power Peacock – along with Telemundo, the theme parks business and film and television studios.”

NBCUniversal is, of course, the NBC broadcast network and the film and TV studio, Universal Studios. Bravo, which originally launched in 1980 as an upscale performing arts network, is now a powerhouse of reality TV. It delivers programming that’s cheap to produce (Real Housewives franchise, Top Chef, Project Runway, etc.), that attracts millions of viewers, and makes insane profits. Bravo is vital to Comcast’s streaming platform, Peacock (which will also remain with the mother ship), not only because its programming is popular but Peacock subscribers love to dig in and binge those shows.

So why is Comcast dumping the rest? Three reasons… 1) stock price, 2) stock price, 3) stock price.

Cable TV is dying. It is a slow death, one I’ve been documenting for a decade, and we have now reached the beginning of the end.

As more people cancel their cable and satellite TV (CSTV) subscriptions and move to streaming, the value of these cable channels will decrease and hurt the parent company’s stock price. By holding on to its most valuable assets and dumping the dying ones, Comcast’s stock price is free from the drag that is CSTV.

You see, for nearly a half-century, Hollywood somehow convinced 100 million American households to pay a fortune for TV channels they never watched. If you want CSTV, you must subscribe to a bundle package that includes dozens of networks. If you only want Fox News and Turner Classic Movies, too bad because they only come with a bunch of basement-rated networks hardly anyone watches: CNN, MSNBC, MTV, Comedy Central, etc.

The most obscene part is that whether you watch or not, you are subsidizing hate outlets like CNN and MSNBC. A piece of your monthly cable bill goes directly into their pockets. CNN could not survive in a merit-based system. Too few people watch CNN for it to make any real money from advertising. So, CNN is subsidized through the affirmative action of CSTV where tens of millions of Americans send CNN hundreds of millions of dollars through their cable bill every year. This is called a carriage fee.

Streaming is killing CSTV. For starters, it’s much cheaper, but it’s also convenient to watch what you want when you want. Then there are the ads. Even the streaming outlets that include ads are nowhere near as punishing as the 20 minutes of ads per hour CSTV bludgeons you with.

Comcast sees the writing on the wall. Instead of 100 million households subscribing to CSTV, that number is now closer to 60 million. That’s still a lot of free money flowing to MSNBC and CNN, but eventually, it will dwindle to a number where these networks can no longer make a profit due to production costs. In ten years, most cable news outlets will be dead and buried or loss-leaders on streaming services. Not only are the corporate media losing subscribers, this election proves they no longer dominate in the influence department. That reality makes them even less valuable to a parent company. +

There is plenty to hate about these streaming services, but they are at least merit-based. You have to want to subscribe to a Netflix or Disney+ or Max in order for them to remain profitable. That was never true with CSTV where you are forced to pay for garbage you never watch.

CNN’s streaming service, CNN+, lasted less than a month, which says it all.

One more reason millions and millions are canceling their CSTV packages is the insane amount of free programming through streaming. If you have a Roku box and high-speed internet, you’re blown away by all the free stuff. Pluto, FreeVee, and Roku TV are basically free versions of cable TV with fewer ads. There’s news, sports, classic TV, binge channels of newer shows, true crime, movies galore…

Why anyone would pay for any kind of TV in 2024 is beyond me.

John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook. 

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