Comcast plans to spin off most of its cable TV networks, including MSNBC and CNBC, into a separate publicly traded company, according to executives familiar with the plan.

The spinoff is expected to be officially announced on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the impending announcement Tuesday night, said the channels involved also include USA, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and the Golf Channel.

Comcast’s NBCUniversal division retains Bravo, the NBC broadcast network, the Peacock streaming service and all of its other assets, such as NBC Sports and the Universal theme parks.

The separate cable company will have the same type of ownership structure as Comcast, but will have its own management team, led by NBCUniversal Media Group chairman Mark Lazarus, who will become CEO of the new venture.

While observers may see the spinoff as an attempt to shed cable channels that are losing value in the streaming era, the channels still contribute strong profits to Comcast’s bottom line. Company executives are expected to tout the spin-off as a growth opportunity for an industry in transition, with an eye toward acquiring other channels in the future.

Of course, the standalone cable network business could also attract buyers as well as sellers. Wall Street analysts predict further consolidation of major media companies in the coming years.

Comcast Chairman Mike Cavanaugh foreshadowed the spin-off during a conference call with investors last month. He said the company is going to study whether it’s a good idea to create “a new well-capitalized company that goes out to our shareholders” made up of “our cable portfolio networks.”

Obviously, the study did not last long.

Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, said Variety that “investors have longed for this exact thing, or at least something close to it, for years.”

Notably, the spin-off will separate MSNBC and CNBC, two profitable parts of NBCUniversal News Group, away from NBC News’ core newsgathering operation. In recent years, NBC has tried to bring its broadcast and cable news operations closer together. Now they can be peeled back.

Executives are expected to address their vision for how the breakup will work on Wednesday.

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