Business news in brief

By The Associated Press

Comcast to spin off cable networks

WASHINGTON | Comcast is spinning off into a new company many of its cable television networks that were once at the heart of the entertainment giant, as consumers increasingly swap out their cable TV subscriptions for streaming platforms.

Those one-time stars for Comcast’s NBCUniversal cable television networks include USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, as well as CNBC and MSNBC. Peacock will remain with Comcast, as will Bravo, which provides significant content for the Peacock streaming service.

How exactly this split will impact customers has yet to be seen, particularly as Comcast aims to complete the transition over the next year. But some analysts speculate that the spun-off networks may have more freedom to bring their content elsewhere.

FTX co-founder gets no prison time

NEW YORK | An apologetic FTX co-founder was sentenced Wednesday to no time in prison after a prosecutor and a federal judge praised his cooperation against Sam Bankman-Fried and his efforts to recover money for victims of the cryptocurrency fraud.

Gary Wang testified for parts of three day s at Bankman-Fried’s trial last year, explaining his role as FTX’s chief technology officer in a fraud that Judge Lewis A. Kaplan described as one of the two or three biggest in U.S. history.

Kaplan praised Wang for being the first person to cooperate after FTX collapsed in November 2022, sharing information that Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said enabled prosecutors to quickly extradite Bankman-Fried from the Bahamas in December 2022.

Campbell’s shareholders approve name change

NEW YORK | Campbell’s is ditching the soup — at least in name. And the change has now received shareholders’ greenlight.

Campbell Soup Co. announced its intention to change its name just over two months ago, saying it wanted to instead be known as the (slightly shorter) Campbell’s Co. Shareholders overwhelmingly approved the change on Tuesday.

In a statement, CEO Mark Clouse maintained that this “subtle yet important change” will retain the company’s iconic name “while reflecting the full breadth of our portfolio.”

New Jersey-based Campbell’s hasn’t been exclusive to the soup business for some time. The company also owns brands like Prego sauce and Goldfish crackers — and completed a $2.7 billion acquisition of Sovos Brands, the maker of Rao’s pasta sauces, earlier this year.

—From AP reports