By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-20 21:02:49 | Updated at 2024-11-21 15:42:38
18 hours ago
Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski faced an awkward broadcast in the wake of a bombshell report claiming Comcast is set to spin-off its cable channels, including their employer MSNBC.
The hosts brought up the news after the Wall Street Journal reported Comcast will release a swathe of its NBCUniversal cable TV networks, as Scarborough joked that it would mean his wife needs to 'give up her penthouse.'
'When this happens, you never know what's going to happen,' Scarborough said.
As he tried to downplay the move, Scarborough said his show 'could all be fired a year from now', to which Mika chimed in: 'Or tomorrow.'
While she was joking, the remark was telling over the danger MSNBC's top talent find themselves in - which notably comes after the network suffered dire ratings in election season.
Comcast's move to spin off its NBCUniversal networks would have been a staggering move years ago, with its fleet of channels previously among the company's most profitable assets.
But the decision will see channels including MSNBC, USA, Oxygen, E!, and Golf Channel branched off onto a separate entity - and separate balance sheet.
Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski waded into Comcast's move to spin off their employer MSNBC this week, as Scarborough joked that it would mean his wife needs to 'give up her penthouse'
Comcast executives said that they will not spin off all channels, and will keep Bravo, the Peacock streaming service and the NBC broadcast network under the parent company.
But by shedding its expensive networks, Comcast is hedging its bets that it can expand its movie studio and theme park industries without being dragged down by the struggles of traditional television news.
According to the WSJ's reporting, which broke the story, the new cable venture will have an 'ownership structure that mirrors Comcast's', but 'would likely need greater scale to thrive.'
This appeared to be on the minds of Morning Joe's panel on Wednesday, as the hosts poked fun at the move while clearly understanding it may drastically alter MSNBC.
Scarborough said: 'The big concern that stockholders right now on Wall Street are wondering about, before they decide what to do with Comcast shares, is whether Mika is going to have to give up her penthouse.'
'Now, now,' Brzezinski responded.
The move from Comcast shows the company is hedging its bets that it can expand its movie studio and theme park industries without being dragged down by the struggles of traditional television news
'I will say really quickly on this, you know, Drudge at the top said, like 'News melts down!' all this other stuff,' Scarborough added, downplaying the impact.
'I mean, I could be completely wrong: we could all be fired a year from now. When this happens, you never know what's going to happen.'
He said that Comcast's drastic decision mirrors moves taken by its rivals in recent years, by 'spinning off the cable channels, which seven years ago were making a ton of money, now they've got to figure out how to make them profitable.'
Scarborough pointed to Disney as an example of how to 'make streaming profitable', alongside Peacock's 'extraordinary success in the Olympics.'
While he struggled to explain what Comcast consolidating its channels together would mean for his future, Scarborough concluded that the company will be 'in a much better position to scale' after making the decision.
It also comes at a delicate time for the Morning Joe anchors after it was revealed that Joe and Mika visited Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, sparking fury among the liberal show's staff and viewers.
The announcement this week from Comcast is indicative of the significant changes the media industry has been hit with in recent years, which has also seen a swathe of outlets forced to downsize their staff numbers.
This month, this also led CNN to reportedly launch plans to axe some of its high-paid staff after the network also suffered dismal election ratings.
While shedding a slate of its well-known networks, Comcast will keep Bravo, the Peacock streaming service and the NBC broadcast network under the parent company
Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts (pictured) will not be on the board of the new venture, and the new CEO will be Mark Lazarus, currently the Chairman of NBCUniversal's media group
When Comcast bought NBCUniversal in 2011, the cable networks generated huge profits, and in the past 12 months they brought in roughly $7 billion in revenue.
Dwindling viewership in favor of streaming forced the move, and Comcast's new venture is reportedly expected to take around a year to complete.
Although it will have 'an ownership structure that mirrors Comcast's', Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts will not be on the board of the new venture.
Instead, the new CEO will be Mark Lazarus, currently the Chairman of NBCUniversal's media group, while the CFO will be Anand Kini, the current CFO of NBCUniversal.
