Comcast has announced that it is splitting itself into two separate companies: a Comcast broadband business and an NBCUniversal entertainment business. The move follows the earlier spin-off of its cable assets, such as CNBC and MS.NOW, into a new company called Versant, and it marks the effective end of Comcast's long-running bet on combining media content with distribution networks. The split matters because it represents a major player abandoning the influential "content plus pipes" strategy that has repeatedly drawn in media and telecom giants.

In a Decoder podcast discussion, The Verge's Nilay Patel and Business Insider's Peter Kafka argue that although Comcast held NBCUniversal together for 15 years, it never convincingly explained the value of pairing content with its broadband network. They note that similar deals — AT&T buying Time Warner, Verizon buying AOL and Yahoo, and AOL's earlier purchase of Time Warner — all ended badly. The pair frame the split as Comcast admitting it lacked a real answer and bowing to Wall Street pressure, while both resulting companies now face existential choices and stiff competition. The conversation also touches on net neutrality and Netflix's rise as pivotal to why the strategy failed.