Another year, another bout of speculation about whether Vivendi will sell its 20 per cent stake in NBC Universal. Only this time feels different. The US broadcasting group is increasingly out of place in the French conglomerate’s portfolio of subscription-driven media and telecoms businesses. Jean-Bernard Lévy, Vivendi’s chief executive, described NBC Universal as “non-core” in Vivendi’s latest earnings call. Last week, he stirred the pot again, hinting that Vivendi would pursue a public offering of the stake if 80 per cent owner General Electric did not want it.

There are good reasons to sell now. Vivendi may struggle to fund its €1.7bn yearly dividend after 2011, when changes to the company’s tax regime and a resumption of dividend payments to Vodafone, minority partner in Vivendi’s French mobile telecoms business, will crimp cash flows. Bernstein estimates cash available for dividends could shrink from about €2.7bn this year to €1.4bn in 2012. Shedding NBC Universal, which generated less than $400m of cash flow for Vivendi last year, and reinvesting the proceeds in higher-returning businesses could help close the gap.