Comcast stock gains on report that NBCUniversal cable networks will be spun off

Comcast Corp. stock rose in after-hours trading Tuesday after the Wall Street Journal reported the company is expected to announce a plan to spin off most of its cable TV networks.

According to the Journal, cable networks under Comcast’s NBCUniversal umbrella including MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel will separate in a tax-free spinoff. Those networks generated about $7 billion in revenue in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, the Journal said.