Comcast is exploring separation of cable networks business

Comcast is exploring a separation of its cable networks business, President Mike Cavanagh said Thursday.

During the company's third-quarter earnings call with investors, Cavanagh said the company is exploring creating "a new, well-capitalized company owned by our shareholders and comprised of our strong portfolio of cable networks."

The possible separation would not include broadcast network NBC nor streaming service Peacock, he added. NBCUniversal's cable networks portfolio includes Bravo, E!, Syfy, Oxygen True Crime and USA Network, as well as news networks MSNBC and CNBC.

The comments come as millions of customers continue to flee the traditional pay TV bundle in favor of streaming. Comcast has been beefing up its streaming service Peacock, which got a boost during the third quarter when it exclusively aired the Summer Olympics in Paris. Peacock ended the quarter with 36 million subscribers, up 3 million from last quarter.

Shares of Comcast were up more than 3% in midday trading Thursday.

Despite cord cutting, traditional TV networks are still cash cows for media businesses, while streaming has racked up losses. On Thursday, Comcast said third-quarter revenue for the media segment – mainly comprised of NBCUniversal's TV networks – was up nearly 37% to $8.23 billion, largely due to the Olympics. Still, excluding the Summer Games, revenue was up almost 5%.

Cavanagh stressed to investors that the process of studying a separation is at the very early stages, and the potential outcome was still undetermined. Comcast decided to announce it was considering the news so that it could explore the idea without having to worry about leaks or confusion, according to people familiar with the company's thinking. The research will include