What will NBCU’s conscious uncoupling from Comcast mean for brands?

Roberts said the newly unshackled NBCU, which will span NBC, several cable networks, Telemundo, Peacock and Sky, would function as a “unique, independent, focused company that will be home to some of the industry’s most valuable brands and assets across theme parks, film, television, streaming, sports and news.” Mike Cavanagh, the current co-chief exec of Comcast, is set to become CEO at NBCU.

The spinning-out plan was a surprise from Roberts, but has been received well by the markets; Comcast’s share price has risen 6.5% since Monday, at the time of writing. Quite what it means for advertisers is less clear.

Three media buyers told Digiday they’d had no information from contacts within NBCU or Comcast regarding how the split might affect their clients, or how elements of the Comcast/NBCU ad stack will get divvied up – though ad server and DSP provider Freewheel and Universal Ads are expected to remain with Comcast.

Dan Larkman, CEO of performance advertising business Keynes, listed a number of “unknown opportunities” that could change the picture for agencies working with either NBCU’s networks or Freewheel itself. 

“Can they offer the same incentives? Is Freewheel still going to have access to the same type of inventory it has with NBCU? Is that going to change, allowing NBCU to go with Magnite or the Trade Desk?” Larkman asked.

Despite the absence of detail, agency experts told Digiday that the move might impact CPMs once the dust has settled.

“We’re trying to figure out what this means from a negotation stance, especially as it relates to scatter pricing.” said Kaitlyn McInnis, executive director, investment at CrossMedia.

Some expect NBCU to attempt to raise the pricing floor on its streaming and linear TV inventory, particularly as it looks to fund expensive sports rights deals amid competition from streaming platforms.

“Once the spinoff is complete (maybe 12 months), there will be pressure for NBCUniversal to grow advertising and subscription revenue without the support of Comcast,” said Luke Moore, vp and  managing director, media partner at full service agency FUSE Create, in an email. “This will likely push available inventory towards higher CPM media purchases, like addressable or data-heavy media products and reduce focus on traditional, linear TV.”

Other media agency execs were skeptical the split could restore NBCU’s leverage with advertisers.

“They can try everything they want, they’re still in a competitive marketplace,” said Lisa Herdman, chief enterprise integration officer at RPA.

With this year’s TV upfronts firmly in play, few buyers expect the split to upset negotiations. “I definitely don’t see it affecting this year’s upfront and I don’t really see it impacting next year’s either,” said Horizon Media’s evp and head of investment Samantha Rose.

That might change by 2027, with an unbundled NBCU under pressure to establish a solid footing. “Next year could be a different story, as that will be the first year they go into the upfronts as a standalone entity,” said Abby McNally, group director, connections strategy at Collective Measures.

“NBC has historically been a place where it’s been hard to push for better rates. With this unbundling, I’d hope they would be more amenable to conversations with advertisers. I’m looking at it as a pro,” said McInnis.

Advertisers with existing long-term deals, such as presenting sponsor slots, are also unlikely to see changes, added Keynes’ Larkman. “Companies like NBC [will] protect advertisers at all costs,” he said.

Buyers looking farther down the line sense trouble, however. NBCU without its Comcast pairing could become an acquisition target for deep-pocketed streamers (Netflix, for example, might consider another run at a major media acquisition).

One media buyer, who exchanged candor for anonymity, shared their “catastrophe” scenario, in which NBCU’s custodianship of Olympic broadcasting rights was compromised by a carve up or merger with a larger entity.

“If they cut back on [coverage], that would ultimately impact what we’re planning or the reasons why clients come on board [for Olympic media buyers],” said the buyer.