New York, June 29 -- Comcast Corporation announced its intention to split into two entities in a move that will see its media and connectivity businesses getting listed separately in a fast-changing media landscape.

The cable giant plans to undertake a tax-free spin-off of NBCUniversal and Sky into a separate company that will see the shareholders of Comcast getting shares in both Comcast and NBCUniversal.

The move will help create two focused industry leaders, each with significant scale, strong financial profiles and distinct strategic opportunities, Comcast said in a release.

Shares of Comcast jumped around 20 per cent in pre-trading hours.

The company announced that Mike Cavanagh will be the Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal...