The mood of staffers at the NBCU cable networks Comcast intends to spin off is anxious and uncertain — but some are also cautiously optimistic.

NBCUniversal CFO Anand Kini will become CFO and COO of the new channels company, helping Lazarus develop "an independent strategy" and establishing it "as a potential partner and acquirer."

Comcast Corp. plans to spin off cable-TV channels including MSNBC, CNBC and USA, following through on plans first announced last month.

Panic engulfed MSNBC headquarters Wednesday after parent company Comcast confirmed a massive spinoff of its cable properties — with a top executive even suggesting the left-leaning network may be forced to change its name.

Comcast's cable channel spinoff plan is prompting a restructuring that will give NBCUniversal Chief Content Officer Donna Langley more turf and a new home for longtime executive Mark Lazarus.

The new venture will house channels like E!, USA and MSNBC, and Comcast also announced several leadership changes.

Now, MSNBC is being upended by the very technology it first embraced, with streaming video now accounting for nearly half of all TV viewing, according to Nielsen. The decline of pay TV has culminated in Comcast placing MSNBC — along with sister networks such as CNBC and E!