The stunning departure of Mr. Shell, 57, marks an abrupt about-face for him after a nearly two-decade rise at Comcast. Mr. Shell had risen steadily through the ranks at the cable company-turned-media-behemoth, becoming chief executive of NBCUniversal in 2020 after his predecessor, Steve Burke, stepped down.
Before becoming the top executive, Mr. Shell had a number of high-profile roles at the media division. In 2013, he was tapped to lead the Universal film studio, which Comcast had recently acquired in a megadeal with G.E. He succeeded Ron Meyer, a longtime Universal executive, who left the company in 2020 after he said he was the victim of an attempt to “extort” him that was related to a past extramarital affair.
In Mr. Cavanagh, 57, Mr. Roberts has turned to a close confidant whose stock has risen steadily at Comcast since he joined the company in 2015. Last year, Mr. Cavanagh was appointed president of Comcast — the third person to hold that position in the company’s history — and is widely viewed internally as the most likely internal candidate to succeed Mr. Roberts as chief executive.
Even before his sudden departure on Sunday, Mr. Shell’s status as chief executive of NBCUniversal had, at times, been uncertain. Last year, Comcast discussed combining NBCUniversal with Electronic Arts, a deal that could have resulted in a new role for Mr. Shell at Comcast, according to two people familiar with the talks. Ultimately, that deal was never consummated, and Mr. Shell stayed on as the head of the media division.
Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, has had some momentum in recent months, but remains small compared with its peers. Peacock has more than 20 million paid subscribers, significantly fewer than Netflix (232 million) or Warner Bros. Discovery’s offerings of HBO Max and Discovery+ (96 million). Some of the major media companies’ streaming businesses are still losing money, and Peacock is no exception. It lost around $2.5 billion last year, and is projected to lose another $3 billion this year.
