Peacock, the streaming service of Comcast Inc.’s entertainment arm NBCUniversal, reported higher revenue in the third quarter and narrowed its loss to $436 million from a $565 million loss in the year-ago period, but the loss This was slightly wider than the loss of $48 million. Due to increased programming costs due to the Paris Summer Olympics, it is scheduled for the second quarter of 2024. But with the boost from the Olympics, the streamer’s revenue has increased, with 36 million paying subscribers at the end of September and 33 million at the end of June, the company said Thursday.
“Peacock’s revenue increased 82% (year-over-year) to $1.5 billion. Adjusted EBITDA improved compared to the same period last year,” Comcast emphasized.
Further discussing the Summer Olympics on Thursday, the conglomerate touted significant achievements. “Comcast’s exclusive coverage of the Paris Olympics in the United States demonstrated the collective strength of our entire company and captured the nation’s attention for 17 days.” “Average daily viewership for the Games across our linear networks and Peacock was 31 million, an 82 percent increase compared to the previous Summer Olympics in 2021.”
He also highlighted that the Olympic Games’ incremental media revenue reached a record $1.9 billion. Further financial disclosures detailed that this includes an increase of $1.43 billion in domestic advertising revenue and an increase of $473 million in domestic distribution revenue.
In a phone call Thursday, Kavanaugh reiterated that the Paris Olympics are profitable, without going into details. And in his main contribution to the conference call, Roberts said the Olympics were a huge success and also helped drive content and broadband trends. “That was probably the proudest moment I can think of since we’ve owned NBCUniversal, or certainly since we’ve been there. It was just a great team effort,” he said. Ta. “And we’re really bringing the whole country and the people into this drama.” He added: “I’m really looking forward to LA in four years. There’s Milan in between and we’ll go from there.”
Peacock had its best month ever, capturing the biggest share of U.S. TV usage in the streamer’s four-year history thanks to the Summer Olympics. However, the streamer also previously announced price increases that will take effect on July 18 for new customers and August 17 for existing subscribers.
TD Cowen analyst Gregory Williams had expected Peacock to post a third-quarter loss of $366 million and subscriber numbers to rise to 36 million.
Peacock previously reported a loss of $2.75 billion for the full year of 2023, while streaming profits, so far elusive for most industry giants, have captured Wall Street’s attention. However, Comcast Chief Financial Officer Jason Armstrong said earlier this year that “2023 is Peacock’s peak annual loss and we expect losses to improve significantly in 2024 compared to 2023.” “I am,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, Comcast reported Thursday that its core cable and communications business lost pay TV and broadband subscribers again in the third quarter. Video subscribers decreased by 365,000 to more than 12.83 million, compared to a decrease of 490,000 in the same period last year. The number of broadband users decreased by 87,000 to 31.98 million.
Comcast’s media division’s third-quarter revenue increased 36.5% to $8.23 billion, “primarily due to increased domestic advertising and domestic distribution revenue.” Excluding the $1.9 billion increase in revenue from the Paris Olympics, the company posted a profit of 4.9%. “Domestic advertising revenue increased primarily reflecting increased sales of the Paris Olympics and Peacock, partially offset by lower revenue from our network,” the company said.
Media’s adjusted quarterly EBITDA decreased “due to higher operating expenses,” primarily due to higher sports content costs related to the Paris Olympics, higher programming costs on Peacock, and other sports on domestic television networks. This was due to an increase in program costs.
The conglomerate’s studio division’s quarterly revenue was driven by strong box office sales for “Despicable Me 4” and “Twisters.” Universal also released Speak No Evil and The Wild Robot in September.
The studio’s unit revenue increased 12.3% to nearly $2.83 billion in the third quarter, “primarily due to higher content licensing revenue and theatrical revenue,” Comcast said, adding that the 2023 I mentioned Hollywood’s double strike. “The increase in content licensing revenue was primarily due to the timing of content being made available to our television studios under licensing agreements, including the impact of business interruptions in the prior year period.”
The studio’s quarterly adjusted EBITDA increased 9% to $468 million, as revenue growth more than offset higher operating expenses, primarily reflecting higher programming and production costs. Previous year period. ”
Year-to-date, three of the top 10 box office titles have already grossed nearly $1 billion, including Twisters, Kung Fun Panda 4, and Despicable Me 4, making the industry’s first 50 It’s an animated series that has grossed over $100 million,” Comcast Chief Financial Officer Jason Armstrong said during an earnings call. “Looking to the fourth quarter, Wild Robot debuted in September to great reviews and was a great success at the box office, which is a great achievement for original animation. I’m especially excited about the opening of ‘Wicked.’
The theme park division’s finances took a hit in the third quarter. Revenue decreased 5.3% to $2.29 billion, “primarily due to lower domestic theme park sales due to lower guest attendance.” Adjusted EBITDA decreased 13.8% to $847 million due to lower sales.
“We delivered an incredibly successful Paris Summer Olympics, driving double-digit growth in Peacock’s revenue and paid subscribers, and contributing to NBC’s No. 1 ranking for the 2023-2024 season,” Roberts said. He stated this in the financial report. “We also released the internationally acclaimed “Despicable Me 4,” which grossed approximately $1 billion at the worldwide box office. We also announced the grand opening of Universal Epic Universe, our most ambitious and technologically sophisticated theme park, in May 2025. Overall, it was a very active and successful quarter. I couldn’t be happier with how our team is executing and positioning the company for long-term growth.”
During Thursday’s earnings call, Comcast Cable CEO David Watson said his team is “excited about AI” for use in its sales channels.
And Cavanagh praised the planned opening of the new Epic Universe theme park in May 2025, saying it “guarantees a premium” in terms of price and that “Universal Orlando, along with other existing parks, will “It turns into a week’s vacation.”
Comcast stock soared in early trading Thursday after Kavanaugh shared that the conglomerate is considering spinoffs of its cable network and possible streaming partnerships. As of 9:32 a.m. ET, the stock was up 6.3% to $44.92.
