The strange departure of Mr. Shell, 57, marks a sudden about-face for him after nearly two decades of rising to Comcast. Mr. Shell continued to rise through the ranks of 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 has several high-profile roles in the media division. In 2013, he was tapped to lead the Universal film studio, which Comcast had recently acquired in a megadeal with GE. He replaced Ron Meyer, a longtime Universal executive, who left the company in 2020. later he said he was the victim of an attempt to “extort” him in connection with a past extramarital affair.
In Mr. Cavanagh, 57, Mr. Roberts turned to a close confidante whose stock has risen steadily in Comcast since he joined the company in 2015. Last year, Mr. Cavanagh has been 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 replace Mr. Roberts as chief executive.
Even before his sudden departure on Sunday, Mr. Shell as chief executive of NBCUniversal is, at times, uncertain. Last year, Comcast discussed merging NBCUniversal with Electronic Arts, a deal that could result in a new role for Mr. Shell to Comcast, according to two people familiar with the talks. In the end, that agreement was never fulfilled, and Mr. Shell remains as head of the media division.
Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, has had some momentum in recent months, but remains small compared to its peers. Peacock has more than 20 million paid subscribers, far fewer than Netflix (232 million) or the Warner Bros. offerings. Discovery on HBO Max and Discovery + (96 million). Some of the biggest media companies in the streaming business still lose money, and Peacock is no exception. It lost about $2.5 billion last year, and is expected to lose another $3 billion this year.