Last week, Comcast announced it was moving forward with a plan to spin off its NBCUniversal cable networks into a separate company. This news sparked speculation that the Tesla boss might be stalking the left-leaning news channel MSNBC.

Musk, who has not been shy about his criticism of MSNBC, calling the network “the absolute scum of the earth,” fueled this storyline in an exchange on X, the social media platform he owns. When Donald Trump Jr. posted about MSNBC encouraging Musk to buy it, the billionaire responded, “How much does it cost?”

It’s unclear how serious Musk is about MSNBC, but buying the network would be no easy task. Comcast is not interested in selling individual assets, people familiar with the matter said. It is planned that the spin-off company, which will include several other NBCUniversal channels such as CNBC, USA, Syfy and E! will be included, should examine the takeover of other cable networks.

“We look forward to the planned spin-off of our cable networks, which will create a new company owned by our shareholders – none of these assets are for sale,” a Comcast spokeswoman said in a written statement.

After Comcast completes the transaction – a process expected to take about a year – the new company will negotiate distribution deals with companies such as Charter Communications. MSNBC, with its loyal following, will be a key influence in these discussions, the people said.

“They never intended to sell things piece by piece,” said Joseph Bonner, senior technology, media and telecommunications analyst at Argus Research. “Maybe they would if the price was right.”

Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts holds a third of the voting rights in the company, giving him significant influence over key decisions such as asset sales. Roberts will also hold one-third of the voting rights in the new company, but will not serve on the board.

That’s a very different setup than Twitter, which Musk bought in 2022 for $44 billion and renamed X. Musk was the company’s largest shareholder at the time of the acquisition.

Musk and X did not respond to requests for comment.

If Musk did choose MSNBC, it probably wouldn’t be nearly as expensive as Twitter: The new cable company’s annual revenue would be about $7 billion across all its networks, and its fortunes are declining in a media world dominated by streaming.

Once the new company is formed, the MSNBC spinoff could be more challenging because the nature of the transaction – a tax-free spinoff to Comcast shareholders – limits flexibility for follow-on deals, Wall Street watchers say.

“The tax implications are unclear if the (spin-off company) then sells things piece by piece,” Bonner said.

When Musk bought

MSNBC, known for personalities like Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid, is bracing for a second Trump administration. Last week, “Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski told viewers that after months of covering Trump, they met with President-elect Donald Trump to “do something different.” as a threat to democracy. The move was met with significant backlash from both sides.

MSNBC’s ratings fell after Trump’s victory. From November 6 to November 21, the channel averaged 527,000 viewers, a 38% decline from the 847,000 from January to November 4, the day before the election.

Musk’s right-wing allies, from Donald Trump Jr. to Joe Rogan, have urged him to take action on MSNBC in recent days.

“Media stocks themselves have always had some political positioning, but now the media business is becoming just as politicized,” said Craig Moffett, senior analyst and co-founder of MoffettNathanson.

Jessica Toonkel contributed to this article.

Write to Isabella Simonetti at [email protected]