NBCU Q3 Profits Up, Revenues Down

NEW YORK: NBC Universal saw its third-quarter revenues drop 20 percent to $4.1 billion, according to parent company GE’s financials, while segment profit gained 13 percent to $732 million.

Reports indicate that the Q3 earnings bump was helped along by an after-tax gain on the sale of the company’s stake in A&E. In addition, NBC was able to slash costs by moving Jay Leno to 10 p.m. NBCU also benefited from strong ad revenues at its cable networks. 

For the nine months ended September 30, revenues at NBC Universal were down by 11 percent to $11.2 billion and profit fell 27 percent to $1.7 billion. 

GE’s plans for NBCU remain unclear. One situation being envisioned is that Comcast would contribute its cable assets, along with between $4 billion and $6 billion in cash, into a joint venture with NBCU, with Comcast holding a 51-percent interest. In this situation, GE would buy out Vivendi’s 20-percent NBCU stake. Vivendi has yet to announce its intentions for its equity interest.