Do you think the MSNBC+ spinoffs were to provide some protection to Comcast's more valuable assets?

[Ilikepurple]

I know these announcements could come at any time and it might be a coincidence, but spinning MSNBC and CNBC into a subsidiary would give some cover if Trump ever came after those stations for perceived transgressions. Just a thought. Maybe, somebody just might have wanted to remove stagnant properties off their balance sheet and onto somebody else’s.

[Bluetus]

1. Yes, that definitely could be a factor.

But they were probably considering doing this anyway. Comcast was never into this. They just saw MSNBC as a way to put some advertising in front of a demographic that wasn't being served by Fox and CNN. But the whole talking heads cable thing is headed for the tarpits. The media landscape is changing rapidly.

I think they would have done this even if Harris had been elected because these pieces are a drain and there is no way to pump them up from here. Political programming is just not "appointment TV" for most people these days. People have other ways to get the information without sitting on a couch wasting 10 minutes listening to Claire McCaskill or whomever. MSNBC only covers 3 stories a day, repeated in every hour from Nicole Wallace to Laurence O'Donnell. I get those same 3 stories on my phone and can process the relevant information in under one minute. Why would I sit on a couch for 5 hours of the same thing?

I'd rather find more interesting perspectives and a broader range of topics on a podcast or Bluesky, or Youtube. I can inform myself in a fraction of the time and doing it when it is convenient for me. There is just no future in the nightly talking heads format. We (meaning the "royal we" on the left) had better figure out how to be players in this new media. The good news is that it isn't nearly as costly. You don't have to pay for a truckload of khaki pants, for example, for some dipshit to jabber about statistics for hours at a time.

[delisen]

3. So is Fox disappearing too? nt

[Meowmee]

5. No

Obviously not and neither are the radio shows

[Bluetus]

6. Correct. That stuff is fully funded by the billionaires and

corporations that now own our government.

[Silent Type]

2. I think it's more a business decision, but who knows. Heck Fallon and late night shows

would seem at more risk. They slam trump nightly. Yet Comcast is keeping NBC.

[Ilikepurple]

4. They'll definitely be on his radar

I think it would be easier both legally and practically to go after journalists and suddenly smaller news organizations. Corporate restructuring is often just to move unprofitable assets to places where they don’t shine negatively on the management that currently controls them or to add more flexibility in selling those assists in the future. It is also often to mitigate risks those assets pose. We don’t know yet how effective Trump’s plan to silence aspects the media will be. The worry perhaps might be that NBC and its news staff might be brought into a legal battle with Trump over whistle blowers, anonymous sources, or even simple negative reporting.