Film window ‘flexibility’ makes film business ‘more valuable’ –

Comcast has a lot of leeway when considering potential acquisitions or mergers, especially when moving conglomerate NBCUniversal or other businesses into new areas, Comcast Chief Financial Officer Michael Cavana said Tuesday at an investor conference.

Asked about potential business partners for NBCU beyond its traditional entertainment business, citing recent reports that Comcast Entertainment was considering a merger with video game giant Electronic Arts, Kavanagh told the 50th Annual Technology, Media and JP Morgan Conference Communications in Boston: Comment on mergers and acquisitions speculation or rumors.

However, he emphasized: “Obviously, it’s our job to consider whether there are inorganic ways to create value and we’re doing that. But, as I said, the bar is too high. ”

Cavanaugh focused more on Comcast’s current business. “We really like the company we have,” he said. “We like the business we’re in. We think they work well together.”

The CFO also praised Comcast’s “strongest operators” – NBCU CEO Jeff Shelley, Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson and Sky CEO Dana Strong – as experienced executives who run their business very well, which ensures that they continue the opposite. And that helps keep the transaction barrier very high, he added. The CFO again praised the company’s asset mix, saying it “didn’t trade it for someone else”.

In response to the upheaval in the industry and business in general, Comcast’s chief financial officer expressed confidence. “We work well and have good growth plans in each of our businesses,” he said. “No riot makes anyone in our company go crazy and wonder if we can change our plans.”

However, he argued that if competitors suffered, it could create opportunities. “I think there is a revolt” [will mean] “The winds are blowing our way,” he said.

“Stores do well at the box office,” Kawana said at the conference, urging future big films like jurassic world domination s Minions: Rise of Grus. On smaller, unwanted releases, he said, “I think the flexibility that has now been built into the film business makes the business more valuable. If you look at the possibility of a shorter theatrical release… [the] A very strong premium VOD after a while and then it sticks to window frames made by the Universal team”: puts movies in Peacock for four months, then four months elsewhere, and so on, giving “more money than third parties we used to spend” – All this makes him “feel good about what’s happening on the movie side”.

Peacock, NBCU’s streaming service under Comcast Entertainment, continues to stream “Our Hands” for the conglomerate, Cavanaugh said. Streamer increased revenue, but its losses increased in the first quarter. It added 4 million paid subscribers in the first quarter to complete more than 13 million paid subscribers and 28 million monthly active accounts in the US, up from 24.5 million at the end of 2021. NBCU’s overall TV business, with Peacock’s cable networks side by side,” said Kavanagh.

Comcast President and CEO Brian Roberts said at the time that Peacock’s customer momentum and engagement exceeded expectations in the first quarter of 2022, helped by content such as the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl, the most Peacock’s success. up until, air hoodAnd release date and time marry me. “It’s important that we maintain our service after distributing all this special content in such a concentrated period of time, far exceeding our expectations,” he said. “We’ve seen a 25% increase in engagement hours over the year.”

Executives at the media, entertainment and technology conglomerate in late April also confirmed a 2022 total loss of Peacock-related interest, tax depreciation and amortization of approximately $2.5 billion. Content release time. The company had previously promised to cut costs due to additional growth in Peacock’s paid subscribers.

On Tuesday, Kavanagh also discussed a national streaming platform that Comcast plans to launch in a joint venture with Charter Communications. “Now you’re talking to the JV, which represents the entire country,” he said, describing the benefits of the deal. “That’s positive.”

The company will offer app developers, streamers, retailers, operators and hardware manufacturers “the opportunity to reach customers through the platform in key markets across the country,” the companies said in announcing their plans. The goal is “to provide users with the best streaming experience to give them access to their favorite apps, based on Comcast’s Flex (streaming) product, which currently offers the most-played streaming apps on the market.” As such, the company’s products “can offer hundreds of free content through Xumo, a free ad-supported service that currently offers over 200 unique streaming channels,” the partners said. The NBCUniversal Peacock streamer will also appear on the new streaming platform, “along with other popular apps.”