France stalwart Alldritt left out of test against Argentina

PARIS (AP) — France stalwart Gregory Alldritt will miss France's final match in the autumn nations series.

The French number eight was not included Wednesday in coach Fabien Galthie's squad for Friday's match against Argentina at the Stade de France.

Galthie made four changes as France looks to finish a successful campaign in style against the Pumas following convincing wins against Japan and New Zealand.

Aldritt, who has made 51 appearances for France, started against both Japan and New Zealand but was replaced after 48 minutes against the All Blacks. Charles Ollivon will start in place of Alldritt.

“These are not decisions that fall like that, like a guillotine, we discuss with all the players, we tell them about the trends, the current form, our desire also to create emulation in our France group, regeneration, recovery for others," Galthie said. “Gregory Alldritt participated in the two victories against Japan and New Zealand, he is a captain, he is a leader, he is an exemplary player that all the players want to follow. And he will remain so.”

Galthié also left out of his team Romain Buros, who was expected to start at fullback, giving instead a nod to Leo Barre.

Galthie said that Buros did not fully recover from a knock on a thigh and let the coaching staff know he was not fully fit for the match after training with his teammates on Tuesday.

“As we couldn’t wait until Thursday, we had to make a decision, and it was Romain who made it. And Leo Barre is ready,” said Galthie, who kept faith in his halfback pairing of Antoine Dupont and Thomas Ramos.

Prop Uini Atonio, who missed the first two tests, will start as a replacement for the injured Tevita Tatafu.

Number eight Marko Gazzotti was included among the reserves and is likely to win his first cap, and Georges-Henri Colombe returned to the bench.

France lost 33-25 to Argentina the last time they played in July.

Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi made just one change to his starting lineup after the tight 22-19 loss to Ireland, with Gonzalo García starting at scrumhalf.

France: Leo Barre, Gabin Villiere, Gael Fickou, Yoram Moefana, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Thomas Ramos, Antoine Dupont, Charles Ollivon, Paul Boudehent, Francois Cros, Emmanuel Meafou, Thibaud Flament, Uini Atonio, Peato Mauvaka, Jean-Baptiste Gros. Reserves: Julien Marchand, Reda Wardi, Georges-Henri Colombe, Alexandre Roumat, Mickael Guillard, Marko Gazzotti, Nolann Le Garrec, Emilien Gailleton.

Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia, Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Matias Moroni, Bautista Delguy, Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Garcia, Joaquin Oviedo, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Pablo Matera, Pedro Rubiolo, Guido Petti, Joel Sclavi, Julian Montoya, Thomas Gallo. Reserves: Ignacio Ruiz, Ignacio Calles, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Franco Molina, Marcos Kremer, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Santiago Carreras, Mateo Carreras.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Argentina's Rodrigo Isgro, right, is tackled by Ireland's Jamison Gibson-Park during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and Argentina, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

New Zealand's Cam Roigard, takes the ball from France's Antoine Dupont, right, and Grégory Alldritt, left, to score his team's second try during the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between France and New Zealand at the Stade de France stadium, in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Comcast will spin off many of NBCUniversal’s cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC and MSNBC, into a separate public company.

The shift, which comes as more and more people opt for streaming services over traditional cable, was telegraphed by the company when it released its most recent earnings last month.

Mark Lazarus, current chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, will serve as the new entity’s chief executive officer.

"As a standalone company with these outstanding assets, we will be better positioned to serve our audiences and drive shareholder returns in this incredibly dynamic media environment across news, sports and entertainment," Lazarus said Wednesday.

Like other cable companies, Comcast in recent years has shifted its business emphasis away from tradition cable toward streaming and other sources of revenue, such as its movie studio, theme parks and home wireless and internet services.

In its most recent quarter, Comcast reported that paid subscribers to its streaming Peacock channel jumped by 3 million, or 29%, to 36 million subscribers. Peacock’s revenue soared 82% to $1.5 billion in the period.

Peacock will remain fully with Comcast.

Peacock was launched in 2020, and after a confusing, glitchy start, has taken off recently, boosted in part by the platform’s success and popularity during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Peacock streamed all 329 medal events and over 5,000 hours of coverage during the Games, with viewers streaming more than 23 billion minutes of Olympic coverage, led by Peacock. That's a 40% increase over all previous Summer and Winter Olympics combined, Comcast said.

Comcast hopes to have the spin-off completed in about a year, the cable giant said, pending board approval, financing and regulatory approvals.

FILE - The symbol for Comcast appears on a screen at the Nasdaq MarketSite, on Oct. 1, 2019 in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

FILE- A Comcast truck is shown on Jan. 24, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)