Thursday, 9 January 2025

Deadline: Comcast NBCUniversal’s Cable “SpinCo” Fills Out Exec Roster; Val Boreland Gets Top Entertainment Role

Story from Deadline:

The executive ranks of the cable network entity being spun off from Comcast/NBCUniversal later this year are being filled in with a few appointments, including Val Boreland as head of entertainment.

Mark Lazarus, who will be CEO of “SpinCo,” as the entity is called for now, and prospective CFO and COO Anand Kini announced the leadership news Thursday morning.

The selections include Boreland as President of Entertainment; Keith Cocozza, Chief Communications Officer; Brian Dorfler, Chief Human Resources Officer; Jeff Mayzurk as President, Operations & Technology; Kristin Newkirk, Chief Financial Officer, TV Networks; David Pietrycha, Chief Revenue and Business Officer; and Greg Wright, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller.

The appointment of Boreland, who is currently EVP of Content Acquisitions, TV & Streaming, is a possible signal that a large slate of original programming may not be in the offing for SpinCo.

The new publicly traded company will have in its portfolio USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, along with digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and SportsEngine. Bravo, NBC, NBC’s news and sports divisions, local stations and Telemundo are remaining part of NBCU.

The team is focused on developing SpinCo’s “independent strategy as a modern multimedia company,” a press release said. More execs will be appointed in the coming weeks.

The new entity removes problematic financials for the declining linear TV business from the Comcast books and offers a host of M&A options as all players in traditional television reckon with cord-cutting. The networks continue to generate significant cash flow despite the ongoing decline of viewers and advertising revenue. Warner Bros. Discovery recently restructured itself to divide linear TV from studios and streaming, prompting speculation that it could become part of SpinCo, which is expected to launch by the end of the year.

“As we embark on this journey to build a one-of-a-kind company, I am thrilled to be joined by such a talented group of leaders with the experience and expertise needed to make SpinCo a leading multimedia company from day one,” Lazarus said. “Together, we will capitalize upon our iconic media assets, chart a course for growth and continue to attract additional talent as we build momentum toward the completion of the spin-off.”

Kini added, “This team was handpicked because of their expertise within each of their function areas. I am confident that with and under the leadership of Mark, we will design and build a modern media company with the scale to compete and the right strategy to unlock organic and external growth opportunities.”

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