Jeff Schell, CEO of Comcast’s NBCUniversal entertainment division, discussed the latest trends in advertising and theme parks amid an economic cloud during the conglomerate’s second-quarter earnings call on Thursday. But like rising inflation and other economic problems, the picture remains murky.
Asked about the impact of macroeconomic trends on advertising, Shell said: “The advertising market is tight… Some segments are doing better, others are worse.” The company’s televised preview was “better than we expected,” she emphasized. “Definitely some discomfort, but nothing too dramatic,” she concluded.
Asked to explain what else “float” means, Shell said: “What I mean by float is that there is no decline or growth overall.” He emphasized that the media unit’s second-quarter ad revenue, excluding the company’s run in the NHL playoffs during the same period in 2021, “was really high in the quarter, which I think is better than some of the other companies that have reported.” like a lot of.” distant.”
For example, in the dispersed ad market, spending on cars has fallen due to a lack of new cars on lots, while the pharmaceutical industry is spending a lot, he added.
Management announced a commitment of more than $7 billion in television advertising, which the company previously ranked as its highest grossing.
When asked about NBCU’s theme parks, Shell said the deal has traditionally been subject to economic shocks, but the company has yet to see them. “I think we feel really good about the parks and we feel there’s a lot of growth ahead, regardless of the macro challenges we may face; We just haven’t seen it yet.”
Wall Street analysts entered last season’s earnings focused on colorful commentary and forecasts amid a broader meeting of high inflation and economic headwinds that led some to worry about an impending recession hitting ad revenue. “The direction of streaming has not reduced the risk to media assessments of a slowing economy,” warned Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne in a July 18 report.
“We reduced NBCU’s second-quarter revenue to $8.9 billion from $9.0 billion, driven primarily by lower advertising expectations as we believe the scatter market began to weaken in the second half of the quarter.” wrote the analyst. Wells Fargo Stephen Cahal on his earnings Note. Preliminary report. “Additionally, we believe NBCU will become a greater focus in the second half of 2022 as we hear reports of weakness in a fragmented market and ongoing concerns about weakness from consumers.” As such, we are cutting NBCU’s second half earnings by 5% from our previous estimate and cutting 2023 announcements by 8%. We are also reducing our 2023 theme park revenue by 7% to $6.9 billion.
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.