NBCUniversal revenues climb from box office wins as Peacock losses flatten

Thank Mario for Comcast’s better-than-expected earnings.

The company, which owns NBCUniversal and Universal Pictures, cleared Wall Street forecasts in its most recent quarterly earnings report Thursday, due in part to huge box office wins for The Super Mario Bros. Movie and, to a lesser extent, Fast X.

Let’s-a-go: Theatrical revenues rose 66% YoY to $913 million, and the company’s content and experiences division, which includes NBC and Peacock, reported revenue of $10.9 billion, a 4% uptick from last year. The company’s theme parks business also recorded revenue growth.

Comcast’s connectivity business revenue grew 7% to more than $10 billion, though video advertising and other revenue in that segment fell 7% to $9.8 billion. Overall, Comcast reported $30.5 billion in revenue, up 1.7% YoY, and nearly $4.25 billion in net profit, up 25% YoY.

Bird brain: Peacock added 2 million subscribers in the quarter, bringing its subscriber count total to 24 million. Revenues from Peacock ballooned 85% to $820 million, but costs from Peacock in the quarter were $651 million. Execs previously said Peacock would see peak losses this year.

• “I’m optimistic about what the second half of the year brings, [and] feel pretty good about Peacock,” Comcast president Mike Cavanagh told investors Thursday.
• After the quarter’s close, Peacock announced a price increase, and earlier this year, the company disabled its once widely touted free tier for new users.

[B]ads: NBCU’s media segment reported a 4.9% decline in advertising revenue, to $2.03 billion, due to the tough ad market, and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said the ad environment will continue to look tepid in the third and fourth quarters.

Elephant in the room: The writers’ and actors’ strikes continue to cast a long shadow over media companies, and Cavanagh said the company may feel bigger effects in the first quarter of 2024 if work stoppages continue.

“We remain committed to reaching a fair deal as soon as possible so we can get back to doing what we do best, which is making great content together,” he said.