M+E Connections

Subscribers to Comcast’s Peacock over-the-top (OTT) video streaming service jumped almost 50% in the company’s fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31) to 31 million, including net additions of 3 million, it said Jan. 25.

Meanwhile, Peacock Q4 revenue increased 57%, surpassing $1 Billion in  quarterly revenue for the first time.

Peacock EBITDA losses also continued to “moderate” in Q4 with year-over-year improvement and Comcast expects to “show meaningful improvement” in losses compared to last year, Jason Armstrong, Comcast CFO, told analysts on an earnings call that was also webcast Jan. 25.

Comcast’s studios business ranked #1 in global box office for all of 2023, and that included three of the top five films overall: Super Mario Bros. Movie, Oppenheimer and Fast X, the company said.

“We’re less than a month into the new year, and 2024 is already off to a great start,” according to Michael Cavanagh, Comcast president.

Two weeks ago, Comcast “came together to make history: shattering records with the first exclusively streamed NFL Wildcard game on Peacock,” Cavanagh told analysts on the call. Almost 23 million viewers viewed the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Miami Dolphins, consuming 30% of all Internet traffic in the U.S. and setting a new record in total U.S. Internet traffic for any night, he said.

Comcast’s investment in its network and technology platforms “built over decades enabled us to shine, delivering a seamless experience on the Internet and Peacock, demonstrating that our company is in an excellent position to win in this era of high bandwidth consumption,” according to Cavanagh.

The company positioned itself to “benefit from a significant number of scaled and diversified growth opportunities that are margin-accretive,” Cavanagh told analysts, pointing to its Peacock, studios, residential broadband, mobile, business services and theme parks businesses as the key contributors. Revenue in those businesses increased 8% in 2023 and made up 55% of Comcast’s total revenue for the year.

“Peacock continued to be the fastest-growing streamer in the U.S., a result of our holistic business model, which leverages all of our brands to serve a broad range of viewers by providing them with options to match their evolving habits,” Cavanagh said. Since launching in 2020, “we’ve seen strong momentum, ending the year at 31 million paid subscribers at a $10 ARPU supported by healthy trends in both engagement and churn and I’m excited for 2024,” he said.