US media giant Comcast is set to spin off its NBCUniversal cable television arm, as the industry continues to struggle with the emergence of streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Comcast is moving forward the spinoff of its cable network channels, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC's Julia Boorstin on Tuesday. The separation is expected to take about a year, and an announcement from the company could come as early as Wednesday,

The split would cleave off some of NBCUniversal’s best-known brands, which face the same cord-cutting challenges as many other major cable channels.