Streaming service Peacock closed 2022 with more than 20 million paid subscribers, helping Comcast slip past Wall Street estimates during a challenging fourth quarter in the media sector.
Total revenue came in at $30.55 billion in the period, less than 1% ahead of the prior-year quarter but just above analysts’ consensus. Earnings per share of 70 cents fell short of estimates, but exceeded them on a non-GAAP basis.
Along with Peacock, a strong return for theme parks helped NBCUniversal post solid numbers. Revenue climbed 6% to $9.9 billion. Advertising revenue increased 4%, which the company credited to Spanish-language coverage of the World Cup by Telemundo and rising Peacock advertising revenue.
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Theatrical revenue at the film studio soared 47% over the prior year, with Ticket to Paradise, Puss
in Boots: The Last Wish, Violent Night and Halloween Ends closing the year on a high note. First-window streaming rights to Universal theatrical titles on Peacock started in 2022 and helped pace growth of the streaming service.
Theme park revenue gained 12% to $2.1 billion, which the company said was due simply to “increased attendance and guest spending,” relative to the Omicron-hit period in 2021.
Peacock’s growth had been teased, though at 18 million subscribers as of mid-December, by NBCU boss Jeff Shell during an appearance at a Wall Street media conference. Live Spanish-language coverage of the World Cup by Telemundo, which was carried by Peacock, helped the streamer gain momentum into the end of the year. In that session, Shell also highlighted a key item on Comcast’s agenda for 2023: getting clarity on the state of its Hulu stake. In an arrangement with Disney, Comcast can be bought out for its 30% of the streamer starting about a year from now. “There’s no indication that anything else is going to happen than Disney writing us us a big check,” Shell said.
Video subscriber losses continued at Comcast Cable, which shed 2 million video customers in 2022. In the quarter, 440,000 video subscribers disconnected. Excluding the impact from Hurricane Ian, total broadband net additions were 4,000, the company said.
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