Entertainment
Comcast to spin off MSNBC, CNBC and cable channels
Comcast Corp. is cleaving off a huge chunk of its television portfolio to create a new company composed of its cable channels, including MSNBC and CNBC.
The Philadelphia-based cable giant plans to unveil the spinoff as well as a new corporate structure for NBCUniversal on Wednesday morning, according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly.
The $7-billion spinoff comes as traditional media companies grapple with the diminishing value of what was once an economic pillar of the entertainment business. For years, NBCUniversal’s cable channels — including USA, Bravo, Syfy, Golf Channel and E! — provided the company’s most reliable profits.
But as consumers shift to on-demand streaming platforms, the future of cable channels looks increasingly bleak. Comcast is taking an exit ramp on cable programming by creating a new company, comprising nearly all of NBCUniversal’s current cable networks with the exception of Bravo, home of the “Real Housewives.”
The legacy NBCUniversal also will hold onto the Universal Pictures film studio as well as the NBC broadcast network, NBC Sports and streaming service Peacock. Keeping Bravo is an interesting twist, but its content has been a potent driver for Peacock, and the linear channel still achieves healthy ratings.
Comcast’s current shareholders will be given stock in the new company.
Mark Lazarus, who has presided over NBC Sports and NBCUniversal’s networks business for about a decade, will lead the new company, the knowledgeable people said. Lazarus, a former Turner Broadcasting executive, joined Comcast in 2010 and assumed control of NBC Sports the following year after Comcast took control of NBCUniversal from General Electric and installed its own management team.
Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts is expected to control one-third of the new company’s voting stock.
The separation, which will likely close in about a year, has already prompted a new management structure for NBCUniversal.
NBCUniversal Chief Content Officer Donna Langley will assume greater responsibilities as NBCUniversal chairman of entertainment and studios, which will include oversight of NBC Entertainment, the Universal film and television studios and marketing of entertainment programming, the sources said.
Langley has long been a respected tastemaker in Hollywood, but her profile within the company has grown dramatically since taking over the film studio five years ago.
Universal Pictures now is one of the most stable and prolific studios around. During Langley’s tenure, Universal has produced two of the most profitable years in its 112-year history, with “Oppenheimer,” directed by Christopher Nolan, generating nearly $1 billion in ticket sales and winning the Oscar for best picture.
The studio also scored with “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “M3GAN.” This year, Universal produced hits such as “Twisters” and the upcoming first installment of “Wicked,” which is expected to be another box office juggernaut.
Comcast President Mike Cavanagh, who runs NBCUniversal, is expected to unveil the changes to his leadership team.
Longtime Comcast executive Matt Strauss will get a big promotion to partner with Langley. Strauss is expected to oversee NBC Sports and business-side functions, including distribution and ad sales. Strauss has served as chairman of NBCUniversal international operations and direct-to-consumer offerings for the last four years.
The Wall Street Journal first reported news of the spinoff.
Cavanagh hinted at the new structure late last month, during its most recent earnings call with analysts. He said such a move could allow the cable channels “to take advantage of opportunities in the changing media landscape and create value for our shareholders.”
Sources familiar with the plan said that NBCU’s cable channels still generate considerable cash flow and that the new entity could use some of those profits to scoop other cable outlets to consolidate its clout in the marketplace.
However, NBCUniversal distribution executives have long packaged NBC, which boasts “Sunday Night Football,” with the company’s cable channels to maintain its cable programming fees.
Staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.
Entertainment
Stagecoach 2026: How to watch Friday’s livestream with Cody Johnson, Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman
Choosin’ to stay home instead of trekking out to Indio for this weekend’s Stagecoach festival? Don’t worry, you’ll be able to listen to all the country music your heart desires. You can get your country heartbreak on with Ella Langley, Bailey Zimmerman and Cody Johnson, and then rock out with Counting Crows. If you prefer EDM, you can catch Diplo and Dillstradamus (Dillon Francis and Flosstradamus) as Friday’s closing acts.
The festival will be livestreamed on Amazon Music, Amazon Prime Video and Twitch beginning at 3 p.m. On Sirius XM’s The Highway (channel 56), you can listen to exclusive interviews and live performances along with a special edition of the Music Row Happy Hour. The station Y’Allternative will also be covering the festival on Friday evening.
Here are updated set times for the Stagecoach livestream Friday performances (times presented are PDT):
Channel 1
3:05 p.m. Noah Rinker; 3:25 p.m.; Adrien Nunez; 4 p.m. Ole 60; 4:25 p.m. Avery Anna; 5 p.m. Chase Rice; 5:55 p.m. Nate Smith; 6:50 p.m. Ella Langeley; 7:50 p.m. Bailey Zimmerman; 8:55 p.m. the Red Clay Strays; 10 p.m. Cody Johnson; 11:30 p.m. Diplo
Channel 2
3:05 p.m. Neon Union; 3:25 p.m. Larkin Poe; 4 p.m. Marcus King Band; 4:50 p.m. Lyle Lovett; 5:35 p.m. BigXthaPlug; 6:30 p.m. Noah Cyrus; 7 p.m. Wynonna Judd; 8 p.m. Counting Crows; 8:50 p.m. Sam Barber; 10 p.m. Dan + Shay; 10:45 p.m. Diplo featuring Juicy J; 11:05 p.m. Rebecca Black; 11:45 p.m. Dillstradamus
Sirius XM Music Row Happy Hour
1 p.m. Avery Anna; 2 p.m. Nate Smith; 2:30 p.m. Josh Ross; 3 p.m. Cody Johnson; 3:30 p.m. Gabriella Rose; 5:15 p.m. Nate Smith; 7:50 p.m. Bailey Zimmerman; 9:30 p.m. Cody Johnson; 11 p.m. Diplo
Sirius XM Y’Allternative
5 p.m. Ole 60; 6 p.m. Larkin Poe; 7 p.m. Marcus King Band; 8 p.m. Sam Barber
Movie Reviews
Movie Review: The Mortuary Assistant – HorrorFuel.com: Reviews, Ratings and Where to Watch the Best Horror Movies & TV Shows
Forget the “video game movie” curse; The Mortuary Assistant is a bone-chilling triumph that stands entirely on its own two feet. Starring Willa Holland (Arrow) as Rebecca Owens, the film follows a newly certified mortician whose “overtime shift” quickly devolves into a grueling battle for her soul.
What Makes It Work
The film expertly balances the stomach-churning procedural work of embalming with a spiraling demonic nightmare. Alongside a mysterious mentor played by Paul Sparks (Boardwalk Empire), Rebecca is forced to confront both ancient evils and her own buried traumas. And boy, does she have a lot of them.
Thanks to a full-scale, practical River Fields Mortuary set, the film drips with realism, like you can almost smell the rot and bloat of the bodies through the screen.
The skin effects are hauntingly accurate. The way the flesh moves during surgical scenes is so visceral. I’ve seen a lot of flesh wounds in horror films and in real life, and the bodies, skin, and organs. The Mortuary Assistant (especially in the opening scene) looks so real that I skipped supper after watching it. And that’s saying something. Your girl likes to eat.
Co-written by the game’s creator, Brian Clarke, the movie dives deeper into the demonic mythology. Whether you’ve seen every ending or don’t know a scalpel from a trocar, the story is perfectly self-contained. If you’ve never played the game, or played it a hundred times, the film works equally well, which is hard to do when it comes to game adaptations.
Nailed It
This film does a lot of things right, but the isolation of the night shift is suffocating. Between the darkness of the hallways and the “residents” that refuse to stay still, the film delivers a relentlessly immersive experience. And thankfully, although this movie is filled with dark rooms and shadows, it’s easy to see every little thing. Don’t you hate it when a movie is so dark that you can’t see what’s happening? It’s one of my pet peeves.
The oh-so-awesome Jeremiah Kipp directs the film and has made something absolutely nightmare-inducing. Kipp recently joined us for an interview, took us inside the film, discussed its details and the game’s lore, and so much more. I urge you to check out our interview. He’s awesome!
The Verdict
This isn’t just a cash-grab; it’s a high-effort adaptation that respects the source material while elevating the horror genre. With incredible special effects and a powerhouse cast, it’s the kind of movie that will make you rethink working late ever again. Dropping on Friday the 13th, this is a must-watch for horror fans. It’s grisly, intelligent, and genuinely terrifying.
Entertainment
Former Live Nation executive says he was fired after raising ‘financial misconduct’ concerns
A former executive at Live Nation, the world’s largest live entertainment company, is suing the company, alleging that he was wrongfully terminated after he raised concerns about alleged financial misconduct and improper accounting practices.
Nicholas Rumanes alleges he was “fraudulently induced” in 2022 to leave a lucrative position as head of strategic development at a real estate investment trust to create a new role as executive vice president of development and business practice at Beverly Hills-based Live Nation.
In his new position, Rumanes said, he raised “serious and legitimate alarm” over the the company’s business practices.
As a result, he says, he was “unlawfully terminated,” according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
“Rumanes was, simply put, promised one job and forced to accept another. And then he was cut loose for insisting on doing that lesser job with integrity and honesty,” according to the lawsuit.
He is seeking $35 million in damages.
Representatives for Live Nation were not immediately available for comment.
The lawsuit comes a week after a federal jury in Manhattan found that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary had operated a monopoly over major concert venues, controlling 86% of the concert market.
Rumanes’ lawsuit describes a “culture of deception” at Live Nation, saying its “basic business model was to misstate and exaggerate financial figures in efforts to solicit and secure business.”
Such practices “spanned a wide spectrum of projects in what appeared to be a company-wide pattern of financial misrepresentation and misleading disclosures,” the lawsuit states.
Rumanes says he received materials and documents that showed that the company inflated projected revenues across multiple venue development projects.
Additionally, Rumanes contends that the company violated a federal law that requires independent financial auditing and transparency and instead ran Live Nation “through a centralized, opaque structure” that enables it to “bypass oversight and internal checks and balances.”
In 2010, as a condition of the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger, the newly formed company agreed to a consent decree with the government that prohibited the firm from threatening venues to use Ticketmaster. In 2019 the Justice Department found that the company had repeatedly breached the agreement, and it extended the decree.
Rumanes contends that he brought his concerns to the attention of the company’s management, but his warnings were “repeatedly ignored.”
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