After Warner defeat, Comcast loads up on Winter Olympics, Super Bowl and NBA

by

Shaking off its defeat in the Warner Bros. bidding war, Comcast is focusing on its big sports bet.

As a sports fan and critic, let me tell you, this year is going to be HUGE for NBCUniversal. They’ve got all the big games! We’re talking the Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl, NBA action, Major League Baseball, and, to top it all off, the World Cup. It’s a non-stop year of sports for viewers, and NBCUniversal is right in the center of it all.

Comcast, a major media company based in Philadelphia, reported its financial results for the last three months of the year on Thursday. These results show that the company’s focus on sports programming is bringing both advantages and disadvantages. Specifically, the new agreement to broadcast NBA games has successfully attracted more subscribers to Peacock, its streaming service.

Peacock has reached 44 million subscribers, and its streaming revenue increased by 23% to $1.6 billion. However, the service experienced a loss of $552 million in the last quarter of the year, largely due to the costs of broadcasting NBA games from NBC and an exclusive NFL game.

Comcast announced during their recent earnings report that Peacock significantly decreased its losses for the year, improving by $700 million compared to 2024. While the service lost $1.1 billion last year, it’s still working towards becoming profitable.

Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts acknowledged the entertainment industry is undergoing a significant shift, and NBCUniversal has been preparing to change with it. The company is moving away from the popular TV shows and cable channels that defined NBC in the 1990s, like classic comedies, hit dramas such as ‘ER’ and ‘The West Wing,’ and channels like USA and CNBC.

This month, the still-profitable cable channels were spun off into a new company called Versant.

Hollywood Inc.

NBCUniversal and Peacock will pay a total of $3.6 million as part of an agreement. This includes $1.5 million to Los Angeles County’s consumer protection agency, $100,000 to cover the costs of the investigation, and $2 million in penalties.

Last fall, Comcast tried to buy Warner Bros. and combine it with their NBCUniversal to become a major Hollywood power player. However, Netflix quickly made an offer worth $82.7 billion, and David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance also submitted a cash bid. Paramount hasn’t given up and is now attempting a hostile takeover of Warner, but Warner’s board is resisting the effort.

“In terms of Warner Bros., what can you say?” Roberts said. “It’s still underway, obviously.”

I think a combination of NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. would have been a really strong move, according to Roberts. But once other companies started making purely cash offers, we just weren’t willing to risk our financial stability to compete – we weren’t interested in overextending ourselves like that.

The longtime cable chief pointed to the silver lining.

Putting together our offer for Warner Bros. helped us carefully evaluate our current assets and future plans,” Roberts explained. “We have a strong and successful studio operation, and we anticipate 2026 will be a very positive year for the film industry. Plus, our two television studios are providing content for Peacock.”

Hollywood Inc.

Comcast President Mike Cavanagh suggested the company is open to acquiring businesses in its industry, but emphasized they’ll be very selective. He told analysts they should anticipate Comcast evaluating potential deals, but only those that meet a high standard will be considered.

As a big believer in NBCUniversal, I’m really excited to see them making progress towards their vision! They’re aiming to create a truly connected media company – one that’s successful, has a strong presence in sports, a great streaming service, and amazing theme parks. And honestly, the recent Warner Bros. Discovery situation has definitely got other companies thinking about joining forces too, which could be really interesting for the whole industry.

NBC, which turns 100 this year, has long carried live sports.

Instead, the schedule is busier than ever, with February featuring the Winter Olympics in Italy, the Super Bowl in San Francisco, and the NBA All-Star game in Inglewood.

Starting in March, you’ll be able to watch Major League Baseball games on NBC and Peacock, including the Dodgers’ opening day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

This summer, Telemundo, the company’s Spanish-language network, will be broadcasting the World Cup, with coverage including events in Los Angeles.

Roberts expressed strong confidence in the company’s position within the industry. He also shared hope that the Olympic Games will provide a unifying experience for the nation and the world, especially given the current climate of division.

Hollywood Inc.

Streaming services are predicted to see much slower growth in subscribers by 2030. This means companies like NBCUniversal and Amazon Studios will likely need to find new revenue streams.

Comcast’s traditional internet business is facing challenges as 5G wireless service from mobile companies gains popularity. Many customers are also canceling their cable TV subscriptions.

In October, Comcast made changes to its leadership team in Philadelphia, appointing Steve Croney as head of its connectivity and platforms division. The company also lowered prices on some of its internet plans to be more competitive in the market.

Comcast lost 181,000 broadband customers in the U.S. during the last three months of the year, which was worse than expected. While they lost customers domestically, gains in international markets helped to lessen the overall impact.

Comcast reported $32.3 billion in revenue for the quarter, which was a small increase and met analysts’ predictions. While earnings per share fell 12% to 84 cents, the result still exceeded expectations.

Comcast’s net income was $2.2 billion, a significant drop of over 50% compared to the same time last year. This decrease is largely due to the fact that last year’s results included a one-time benefit of $1.9 billion from changes within the company related to income taxes.

Hollywood Inc.

PwC, a leading consulting firm, has observed an increase in the value of business deals. They expect this trend to persist into next year, particularly with the anticipated sale of Warner Bros.

NBCUniversal produced $12.7 billion in revenue, a 5.4% increase.

Revenue from television and streaming reached $7.6 billion, increasing by 5.5%. This growth was driven by stronger advertising sales and the streaming service Peacock, which now includes NBA content. Notably, Peacock recently increased its monthly subscription price. These figures also include results from previously profitable cable channels, which were spun off as a separate company on January 2nd.

However, profits from media operations, before factoring in interest, taxes, and depreciation, significantly decreased, resulting in a $122 million loss due to the NBA contract.

Hollywood Inc.

Paramount, Comcast, and Netflix are all planning to make offers for parts or all of the famous media company before Thursday’s deadline.

Theme parks, including the newly opened Epic Universal near Orlando, earned $2.9 billion in revenue, a significant 22% jump. This resulted in a profit of $1 billion.

NBCUniversal’s studio operations brought in $3 billion in revenue, which was down 7.4%. Profits totaled $351 million, a decrease of 38%.

Despite not receiving any Oscar nominations, the movie “Wicked: for Good” from Universal Pictures earned an impressive $1.3 billion at the global box office.

Comcast shares were up 4.3% to $29.63 in mid-day trading.

Read More

2026-01-29 20:32