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

Comcast made things official on Wednesday, unveiling the spin-off of most of its cable networks into a separate entity, led by Mark Lazarus, promising "a new growth trajectory" for the combined assets.

Donna Langley is in the NBCU driver's seat as the Comcast-owned company prepares to spinoff MSNBC & other cable channels

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!

Comcast is spinning off most of its cable networks, also including USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and the Golf Channel, into a separate company. That recognizes how streaming is considered the future and the cable networks are a drag on the bottom line.