Cable might not have the connection it once did. With media businesses swearing by streaming — in spite of its high costs and unprofitable dynamics — many are looking to part ways with their profitable yet shrinking cable divisions. ComcastCMCSA

is now leading the charge, ready to see what happens when you cut the wire.

Goodbye cable, we hardly knew ya: DisneyDIS

and Warner Bros. DiscoveryWBD

still call cable an important business, even as it churns customers. Comcast, however, seems to be rethinking that stance. Last quarter, the company lost 365K TV customers, prompting executives to tease a spinoff during its Q3 earnings call. On Wednesday, they finally pulled the trigger, announcing a spinoff that will include many of its cable networks — with CNBC, MSNBC, and USA Network among them.

• eMarketer’s Ross Benes noted this move could help Comcast focus on its internet and mobile businesses while scaling back its role in the pay-TV market as cord-cutting accelerates.
• As part of the deal, the media company will hold on to its Peacock streaming platform, as well as valuable properties such as NBC and Bravo — the homes of Dateline, Saturday Night Live, and The Real Housewives.

Spinoff 101

NBCUniversal Chairman Mark Lazarus, who will take over as CEO of the newly-created enterprise, says the move will leave the company “better positioned” to serve audiences. Comcast might be better positioned to serve investors, too.

• By separating its lagging cable division from its more profitable core internet and mobile businesses, Comcast could realize better returns.
• Competitor AT&TT
  pursued a similar strategy when it spun off WarnerMedia in Apr. 2022 — since then,T
  is up 25%, andWBD
  is down more than 90%.

Looking forward: Together, the spun-off network channels — which Comcast has referred to as “SpinCo” — generated $7B in revenue over the last 12 months, proving their value even without major properties. That includes some smaller digital products too, such as Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, and GolfNow — which could either play larger roles in the scaled-down entity or be sold as part of a broader asset sale.