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In a meeting at CNBC headquarters in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon, incoming boss Mark Lazarus presented a bullish view of the future after the bombshell news that Comcast would spin off the network.
Three CNBC staffers told Business Insider they felt Lazarus' optimistic talk landed well in the newsroom. They asked for anonymity to discuss internal meetings. Their identities are known to BI.
The vibe was a bit of contrast to Wednesday, when Comcast announced plans to spin off most of its NBCUniversal cable TV networks β including CNBC β into a separate public company called SpinCo (for now). On Wednesday, CNBC anchors shared some worries and dark humor on-air, with "Squawk Box" coanchor Joe Kernan quipping, "We're going out into the cold, cruel world."
Lazarus, who will be SpinCo's CEO, addressed a packed newsroom Thursday at CNBC and didn't hold a Q&A, though he mingled with staff and took questions one-on-one afterward. While speaking with staff, Lazarus said the new company would keep the money generated by its properties and pursue other M&A targets, describing it as entrepreneurial and flexible, one CNBC staffer said.
Lazarus said SpinCO "would be a predator, not prey" and examine various targets "like digital businesses and IP," a second CNBC staffer recalled.
A third staffer said Lazarus talked about the SpinCo having the ability to invest in its cable networks, giving the example of the Golf Channel as one that's thrived digitally.
The first staffer said that after the meeting, talks in the hallway seemed upbeat. That said, CNBC has undergone several rounds of layoffs over the past year, they added.
"People felt better than they did when it first started," the third staffer said. "The plan isn't just to dress it up for PE."
In addition to CNBC, Comcast is spinning off MSNBC, E!, and Oxygen β but holding onto Bravo, whose "Real Housewives" shows and other reality fare are inexpensive to produce and integral to its Peacock streaming service.
Before his meeting with CNBC staff on Thursday, Lazarus and MSNBC president Rashida Jones spoke to execs, producers, anchors, and hosts at MSNBC on Wednesday, Vanity Fair reported.
There were also signs of optimism there, with host Rachel Maddow saying it was positive to have Lazarus there on "day one," Vanity Fair reported. Still, reporting from The Ankler described the meeting as "intense."
Comcast is going forward with the spinoff β which it says will take about a year to complete β amid sagging prospects in the cable TV business. And it's not alone. Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger previously floated the idea of spinning off its cable channels, but the company has more recently retreated.
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CNBC anchors turned their signature irreverent style on themselves on Wednesday as their parent company, Comcast, became a headline in announcing plans to spin off the business-news network along with many other cable assets.
"We're going out into the cold, cruel world," Joe Kernan, a coanchor of "Squawk Box," quipped on air.
It's no secret that the cable business has long been in decline as viewers drift to streaming services. A fellow CNBC anchor, David Faber, came up with an analogy to describe the situation: "We've been on a life raft, and it's kind of been sinking. Now we're all going to be able to swim for ourselves, you know, so it's up to us."
"Maybe we can latch on to a bunch of other people drowning," Kernan replied.
Comcast brass presented the deal, in which it will spin off nearly all of its cable networks into a separate entity headed by Mark Lazarus, now the chairman of NBCUniversal's media group, as a way to grow its remaining businesses while enabling the spun-off networks to consolidate with others.
Bravo, the home of the "Real Housewives" franchises and other reality fare, will remain part of NBCU, along with its film and TV studios, the Universal theme park, the NBC broadcast network, and the streaming service Peacock.
"That Lazarus guy, he's amazing," Faber said, adding that he was "just trying to get on his good side."
Analysts β including those featured on CNBC β didn't hold back on Wednesday about what the spinoff means for the cable network.
"This is them saying we no longer want to be in this business, this is no longer a growth business," Rich Greenfield, a cofounder of LightShed Partners, said of Comcast during a CNBC segment. For CNBC specifically, he said, the question is "can these networks stand on their own?"
"Rich, I think I like you less today," Becky Quick, an anchor on "Squawk Box," responded later in the broadcast.
CNBC's Julia Boorstin laid out questions about the deal, suggesting the so-called SpinCo could make meaningful acquisitions from other media companies in transition, like Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and Starz.
"One of my sources very close to the situation said, 'This isn't the end, this is the beginning,'" she said. "The question is what else does this company acquire, how do they try to squeeze as much revenue as possible from these linear networks, and what do they do with them from a digital perspective in terms of streaming. And what do they do in terms of non-television revenues, things like events, things like communities."
Elsewhere, others inside NBCU had their own questions and concerns about the spinoff.
One question for CNBC folks is whether they'll maintain the prestige and workplace benefits that came with being part of Comcast. There's also a question of what separating MSNBC could mean for NBC News and local NBC stations. MSNBC's left-leaning tilt has sometimes complicated things for straight news-focused NBC News and local NBC stations.
Anxiety was running high among some staffers at CNBC in London, who worried that international offices could be hit first by any cuts in shows or personnel resulting from a spinoff. These people, like some others in the story, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of workplace repercussions. Their identities are known to Business Insider.
One concern is that the spinoff could make it harder for NBCU's separate but co-owned news outlets to compete. NBC and CNBC have closely collaborated on reporting about topics like Elon Musk's role in the Trump administration that draws from CNBC's business expertise. NBC also relies on CNBC's sports coverage.
An NBC News staffer told BI that some in the newsroom felt "blindsided" by the news.
"The message has been to integrate as much as possible, so I definitely think this raises a lot of questions about whether that can continue," this person said.
