Comcast, a major player in the media and broadband industry, has revealed a decline in its broadband customer base during the third quarter of 2023.
The company faced stiff competition from wireless carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile, which have been aggressively targeting lower-income customers with their broadband services.
In the third quarter, Comcast reported a loss of 18,000 broadband customers, reflecting the intense rivalry in the broadband market. Despite this challenge, Comcast managed to achieve a 0.9 percent increase in revenue, reaching $30.12 billion during the same period.
Comcast has introduced a new reporting structure that now includes NBCUniversal in the content and experiences segment. Under this new framework, the company reported a 0.8 percent rise in revenue within this unit, reaching $10.56 billion. However, advertising revenue within the content and experiences segment experienced an 8.4 percent decrease compared to the same quarter in the previous year.
On a more positive note, Comcast’s Peacock streaming service saw significant growth. Revenue from Peacock increased by an impressive 64 percent compared to the previous year. The number of paid subscribers for Peacock also saw a notable increase, with 4 million more subscribers in the third quarter, bringing the total to 28 million, up from 24 million in the previous quarter. This growth was partly attributed to Comcast subscribers transitioning from free to paid Peacock subscriptions.
Comcast managed to narrow the adjusted losses from Peacock in the quarter to $565 million, partly due to price increases implemented during this period.
The company’s theme parks division experienced a substantial revenue boost, with a 17.2 percent increase, thanks to pent-up demand following the COVID-19 pandemic, which had forced the closure of these popular attractions.
However, the studio’s revenue didn’t perform as well. Despite the success of the film “Oppenheimer,” the studios division saw a significant decline of 23.6 percent in revenue during the quarter, in contrast to the same quarter the previous year, which had seen hits like “Jurassic World: Dominion” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”
Comcast also reported that its Capital Expenditures increased by 18.0 percent to $3.3 billion. Within the Connectivity & Platforms division, capital expenditures decreased by 2.1 percent to $2.1 billion, primarily due to reduced spending on customer premise equipment and support capital. This reduction was partially offset by increased investment in line extensions and scalable infrastructure.
In the Content & Experiences segment, capital expenditures surged by 44.0 percent to $884 million. This increase was attributed to higher investments in constructing the Epic Universe theme park in Orlando, which is slated to open in 2025.
