Peacock lands first quarterly profit as subscribers hit 48 million
Comcast said Peacock added 2 million paid users in Q2, while its studio arm got a lift from Obsession and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Peacock finally crossed into profit during the second quarter, with Comcast reporting Thursday that the streamer made $189 million in the three months ending in June.
The NBCUniversal platform also added 2 million paid subscribers, bringing its total to 48 million, according to Comcast’s quarterly earnings report.
Comcast pointed to a busy sports and entertainment slate as a key driver for Peacock. The company cited the FIFA World Cup, the NBA Playoffs and Love Island USA among the programming that helped lift the service during the quarter.
The results landed in Comcast’s first earnings report since the company announced plans to split into two companies. The quarter also showed strength in streaming, wireless and the studio business, according to the company’s figures.
Revenue slips, but beats forecasts
Comcast reported total revenue of $29.9 billion for the quarter, down 1.2% from the same period a year earlier. The figure topped Wall Street expectations, as did adjusted earnings per share, according to the earnings report.
Net income fell 68% compared with the prior-year quarter. Comcast said the comparison was skewed by a one-time $9.4 billion gain last year, or $7.1 billion after tax, from Disney’s payment to acquire Comcast’s stake in Hulu.
The company is also giving some pro forma figures to account for two major changes: the Versant spinoff earlier this year and the sale of Sky Germany.
World Cup delivers for Telemundo and Peacock
The World Cup ran from June 11 to July 19 across Telemundo and Peacock, with Fox also carrying the tournament. Comcast’s current third quarter is expected to reflect the full benefit of the later matches, including the final between Spain and Argentina.
Deadline reported that the final drew 23.9 million viewers on Telemundo and Peacock, making it the most-watched World Cup match in Spanish-language history. Across 104 games, Telemundo averaged 6.3 million viewers, also a record for a Spanish-language World Cup broadcast, according to the report.
Studio arm gets a horror hit
Comcast’s Studios division also turned in a strong quarter. The low-budget indie horror film Obsession, directed by Curry Barker and released May 15, brought in more than $400 million at the box office, according to the company’s results.
The film became the top-grossing release ever from Universal’s specialty label Focus Features. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie also helped the studio after grossing more than $1 billion following its April release.
International distribution of Michael added to the studio’s performance, with studio profit rising to $141 million, according to Comcast.
Another Comcast split is on deck
After completing the Versant spinoff in January, Comcast is preparing another separation, this time spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky into a standalone company.
Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanagh is set to run the NBCUniversal business. Former Comcast chief financial officer Michael Angelakis is slated to become CEO of Comcast after the separation is completed, which is expected in about a year. Until then, he will serve as a strategic adviser.
Soon after Comcast announced that plan in late June, Sky agreed to buy ITV’s television network operations in a £1.6 billion deal, equal to about $2.1 billion.
Investors were expected to listen for more detail on Comcast’s next steps during the company’s post-earnings call scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.