Vive L’NBCU!

It’s a very odd feeling to look at a deal going down and have the creepy, uneasy sense that maybe it’s not completely awful.

Maybe in some ways, it’s actually good.

Which wasn’t my first reaction to hearing the news on Monday that Comcast planned to separate NBCUniversal (the film and TV studios, television networks, theme parks and streaming platform) from its core broadband and wireless business. These days, dread is never far away — but throughout this miserable period, Comcast/NBCU has been an island of calm and stability amidst the roiling sea of chaos.  

The combined company had good years and less good ones; parts of the company have performed better (parks) than others (Peacock). But unlike… everywhere else, there haven’t been these fundamental, existential questions — such as: 

What the hell is this company? 

And: 

Is this place even going to exist in three years?  

The stock stagnancy was troubling as to what it might portend, but the mission didn’t swing wildly back and forth. The current leadership is extremely well regarded and has been drama-free — no major shake-ups or succession crises to see.

And Comcast continued to invest and build, as everywhere else hunkered down and slashed costs wildly. In 2024, they unveiled a huge new campus on their lot — a symbol, as Comcast co-CEO Brian Roberts explicitly put it at the opening festivities, that they were here to stay and building for the future.

To give you a sense of the contrast, when they unveiled their new commissary in 2024, I wrote a long review of the facilities. Back then, I had the idea of starting a tradition of food reviews whenever a studio opened a new section of its campus, showcasing the culinary arts when the owners invested in expanding their facilities.

Well, since then — and if you think of the timeline, you can imagine why — I’ve seen exactly zero grand openings on any lot across town.

(Actually, turmoil aside, Paramount redid their exec dining room sometime last year, and I’m overdue to review that. Spoiler: I’ve been there, and it’s actually not bad at all!)

So, at first blush, the news that NBCUniversal will be its own separate company starting sometime next year came as an earthquake — the one place we don’t have to worry about is going to… who knows? Be on the auction block? Get sold off in pieces?

But on closer inspection, I’m ready to hit pause on the panic button.