Comcast’s third quarter split into two very different stories: a streaming service that finally turned a profit, and a cable business whose subscriber losses are getting worse. Total revenue fell 6.1% year on year to nearly $29.3 billion, but net income rose 3.5% to almost $3.45 billion, or 97 cents per share.
On a pro-forma basis — which strips out the January spin-off of Versant Media and the May sale of Sky Deutschland to RTL Group — revenue was up 0.5%. That restated view matters because Comcast is reshaping itself around NBCUniversal, and the headline decline overstates the underlying media performance.
Peacock swings from loss to profit
Peacock was the bright spot. Revenue surged 33% year on year to $1.82 billion, and the service delivered a $261 million pre-tax profit, compared with a $217 million loss in the same quarter last year.
The nuance: paid subscribers were flat at 48 million versus Q2, even though that total was up 17% year on year. Revenue also dipped sequentially from $1.90 billion in Q2. So the profit swing is a financial milestone, not proof that subscriber growth has re-accelerated.
The cable decline accelerates
Connectivity and platforms revenue fell to $19.66 billion. Broadband users decreased by 144,000, compared with a loss of 91,000 a year earlier. Domestic video customers fell by 274,000, versus 257,000 in the prior-year quarter.
Those widening losses are the core pressure on Comcast’s results. Streaming profit and a World Cup ad surge helped, but the legacy distribution business is losing customers faster.
World Cup masks a flat ad market
TV, film and theme park revenue rose 6.5% to $10.54 billion, helped by the Spanish-language World Cup telecast on Telemundo and films like The Odyssey. US ad sales in the segment rose 14.6%. But without the World Cup, domestic ad sales would have increased just 0.3%.
For media planners, that gap is the most important number in the report. A tentpole event can make a quarter look like a broad advertising recovery when the underlying market is essentially flat. Theme parks also dipped 4.4% on lower admissions.
Why this matters
- Peacock: $261M pre-tax profit, up from a $217M loss; revenue up 33% to $1.82B.
- Subscribers: 48M paid, flat quarter-on-quarter, up 17% year on year.
- Ad sales: +14.6% with World Cup; +0.3% without it.
- Cable: broadband -144,000; video -274,000.
- Theme parks: revenue -4.4% on lower admissions.
Comcast’s coming NBCUniversal spin-off will separate the growing media business from the declining connectivity business. For investors and advertisers, the key question is whether Peacock can keep adding subscribers and ad revenue after the World Cup glow fades.
Source: Variety
