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. The split would cleave off some of NBCUniversal's best-known brands, including MSNBC, E!, Syfy, Golf Channel, USA, CNBC and Oxygen, which now face the same cord-cutting challenges as many other major cable channels.

Comcast owns NBCUniversal, which is the parent company of NBC News.