Peacock, NBCUniversal streaming services, had 24.5 million active accounts per month at the end 2021. That’s about 4.5 million more than when we got our last update, which was back in July. On Thursday, Comcast’s fourth-quarter and full year 2021 financials were reported. We didn’t get an actual subscriber count.
According to consensus estimates of media analysts, Wall Street expects earnings per share (EPS), of 73cs for $29.74 billion of revenue. Yahoo Finance. Comcast reported EPS at 77 cents for $30.336 million in revenue. The earnings number was up 37.5% over Q4 2020. Revenue rose 9.5%.
NBCU revenues increased 25.6% to $9.3B. While revenue at the company’s Media segment, which includes Peacock, increased 8.4%, a $559 million loss related to the streaming service provided a big blow to the bottom line.
Peacock lost $1.7 Billion in 2021 alone, more than 2.5x its 2020 loss.
Studio revenue jumped by 36.4% due to home entertainment performances “F9”and a $80 million theatre recovery.
Universal Pictures films of note Q4 “Sing 2,”This was released on Christmas Day, at the end of the quarter. Small window here, but the sequel to 2016’s “Sing” grossed $76 million domestically by New Year’s Day. So that’s the lion’s share.
Additionally, “Halloween Kills,”Peacock also released the film, which was released in time to celebrate the fall holiday. Universal handled international distribution for James Bond film “No Time to Die.”
Releases from the Q4 Peacock series included “MacGruber,” “One of Us Is Lying”Season 2 and Season 3 “Saved by the Bell.”
The last update we got on Peacock subscribers came (conveniently) in July, when the streaming service said it reached 54 million users by the 29th, which was the day Comcast reported its second quarter financial results. Comcast reported that the streaming platform has 20 million active accounts monthly. We did not get a Peacock subs update with Comcast’s Q3 earnings materials — and have not since.
NBCU’s Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony took place on July 23, meaning we were nearly midway through the Games at the time. Peacock carried all events, which led to an increase in signups.
Three weeks after Q2 ended, the Tokyo Olympics began. Therefore, the lion’s share of that Olympics-signup surge likely took place in early Q3, butBeforethe second-quarter’s earnings call. So, we can assume that Q3 or to date Peacock signups may be higher than in Q2. However, they may still be lower than the 54,000,000 number we got in July.
Comcast had predicted Peacock would be home to up to 35,000,000 subscribers by 2024.
Finally, Comcast-owned theme parks had their most profitable quarter on record, thanks to stronger attendance in the U.S. and Japan, as well as the opening of Universal Beijing Resort in September 2021. Revenue from the theme parks soared 191%, from $648 million up to almost $1.9 billion.
Remember, though, that in the fourth quarter, 2020, there were many more parks closing or operating at reduced capacity due to the COVID-19 epidemic. This is also true for the theatrical-revenue. “surge.”
“Comcast’s strong operating and financial performance in 2021 was underscored by our highest full-year revenue, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS, and free cash flow on record,” Brian L. Roberts, Comcast’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement accompanying the financial results. “We continue to execute extraordinarily well, strengthening our leadership position in connectivity, aggregation, and streaming, while working to have a lasting impact on our communities through our commitment to DE&I and digital equity.”
“Looking ahead, we remain focused on our many exciting organic growth opportunities across all of our businesses,”He went on. “Our top priority is increasing the capacity of our network in the U.S. and further improving our world-class broadband experience. We are producing more of the premium content that our viewers love and continue to provide them with multiple ways to access it, including on Peacock while ramping construction of Epic Universe and welcoming even more guests to our theme parks. And, significantly, we are expanding the reach of our proprietary global technology platform and addressable customer base, starting with Sky Glass and XClass TV. Our confidence in the future is reflected in today’s announcement that we are increasing the dividend for the 14th consecutive year.”
Shares of Comcast stock (CMCSA), closed Wednesday at $48.46 a share. Thursday’s trading day will open at 9:30 a.m. ET/6:30 a.m. PT.
Comcast executives will hold a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT to discuss the quarter — and full year — in greater detail.