Comcast revenue tops estimates as Super Bowl, Olympics lift media business

The Comcast NBC logo is proven on a setting up in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Picture/File Picture

April 28 (Reuters) – Comcast Corp’s (CMCSA.O) 1st-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations on Thursday, as the media huge benefited from its broadcasts of the Tremendous Bowl and Beijing Olympics, as properly as a rebound in concept park attendance.

Complete profits rose 14% to $31.01 billion in the quarter, beating analysts’ normal estimate of $30.53 billion, in accordance to Refinitiv information.

Comcast, the most significant U.S. cable operator, received 262,000 broadband clients in the quarter, in contrast with Factset estimates of 229,000.

Broadband subscriber expansion slumped 43.1% from a calendar year ago, the third consecutive quarter of subscriber declines following history growth through the pandemic. The firm has attributed the slowdown, in section, to fewer individuals modifying households.

Income at Comcast’s NBCUniversal media unit rose 36.3% to $6.87 billion, including $1.48 billion in income from broadcasting the Tremendous Bowl and Beijing Olympics.

NBCU marketing sales jumped 59.2%, benefiting from the sporting situations as properly as the advancement of the Peacock streaming company.

Peacock additional 4 million paid subscribers in the quarter, bringing whole paid out subscribers to 13 million. In a contact with traders Thursday, Main Govt Officer Brian Roberts explained the corporation does not anticipate observing that variety of advancement each and every quarter.

NBCUniversal’s media division results included $472 million of profits and an adjusted earnings just before desire, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) decline of $456 million connected to Peacock, “which includes quantities attributable to the 2022 Beijing Olympics and the NFL’s Super Bowl,” compared to $91 million of revenue and an modified EBITDA decline of $277 million a year before.

NBC’s Tremendous Bowl broadcast attracted an normal tv audience of about 101 million viewers, around 10% over the 2021 championship, in accordance to Nielsen information, with advert prices up 18% in excess of advert charges for the 2021 activity.

Yet the Winter season Olympics in Beijing captivated the smallest prime-time audience considering the fact that NBCUniversal began broadcasting the games, amid a time period of transforming Television-viewing habits.

Net profits attributable to Comcast rose to $3.55 billion, or 78 cents per share, from $3.33 billion, or 71 cents for each share, a yr earlier.

Comcast shares were trading down 3.37% at $42.95.

Reporting by Helen Coster in New York and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru Enhancing by Arun Koyyur, Bernadette Baum and David Evans

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Rely on Ideas.