Donna Langley is in the NBCU driver's seat as the Comcast-owned company prepares to spinoff MSNBC & other cable channels

The new venture will house channels like E!, USA and MSNBC, and Comcast is set to announce several leadership changes.

US media giant Comcast is set to spin off its NBCUniversal cable television arm, as the industry continues to struggle with the emergence of streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime.The BBC understands that the plan - set to be announced on Wednesday - is to create a new company that will include channels such as MSNBC,

Comcast Corp. stock rose in after-hours trading Tuesday after the Wall Street Journal reported the company is expected to announce a plan to spin off most of its cable TV networks.

The portfolio, which includes MSNBC, CNBC, E!, USA, and Oxygen, will break out into a standalone, publicly traded company

Comcast's cable channel spinoff plan is prompting a restructuring that will give NBCUniversal Chief Content Officer Donna Langley more turf and a new home for longtime executive Mark Lazarus.

Comcast is moving forward with plans to spin off its NBCUniversal cable television networks including MSNBC and CNBC, sources say, shedding a once core part of the business that has been a casualty of the streaming video revolution.

Comcast is expected to announce a plan Wednesday to spin off its cable networks into a separate company, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News.