Comcast is spinning off Rotten Tomatoes and cable networks into a separate company

Comcast is exiting, Fandango and a host of NBCUniversal (NBCU) cable networks becoming a separate company. That means USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and the Golf Channel will soon have a new home. Comcast holds on to NBCU’s other operations, namely NBC, , film and TV studios, Telemundo and theme parks. Bravo is also sticking around to help keep feeding the ever-hungry Peacock TV.

Comcast says the new entity will be a “tax-free spin-off” and the move is “expected to be accretive to Comcast’s revenue growth and neutral to Comcast’s position.” In other words, it’s about money – and perhaps laying the groundwork for further consolidation between the big media companies. The spin-off properties pulled in about $7 billion between them in the last year or so, while their future parent still has ties to NBCU. Comcast aims to complete the transition within the next year.

In its press release, Comcast calls the spinoff company “SpinCo,” which is a placeholder and will not be the actual name of the business. After all, having “SpinCo” as their parent company’s moniker wouldn’t be a good look for CNBC and MSNBC reporters.