Broadcast, Cable Networks Show Gains at NBCU

NEW YORK: NBCUniversal's second-quarter revenues were stable at $6 billion, as gains in its cable networks and broadcast television segments were offset by lower revenues from its film studio.

Cable network revenues rose 2.6 percent to $2.5 billion, with improved distribution revenues (4.2 percent) and content licensing and other revenues (14.3 percent) being partially offset by a 2.2 percent fall in ad revenues. Broadcast television, meanwhile, contributed $1.8 billion, a 4.9 percent gain, led by higher retransmission consent fees, as well as content licensing agreements. Ad revenues, however, were down slightly. Filmed entertainment revenues fell 15.3 percent to $1.2 billion. Theme park revenues gained 12.8 percent to $615 million.

The financials were issued as part of parent company Comcast Corporation's Q2 results. The conglomerate posted revenues of $16.8 billion, reflecting a 3.5 percent gain. The cable segment generated revenues of $11 billion, up by 5.4 percent on the year-ago period. Comcast Cable ended the period with 22.5 million video customers, having lost 144,000 subscribers in the period. The platform added 203,000 Internet customers in Q2 and 137,000 voice customers.

Announcing the results, Brian L. Roberts, chairman and CEO, noted: "We continue to see strong momentum across our cable and content businesses. In Cable, we posted the best second-quarter customer results for both video and high-speed Internet in six years and saw tremendous demand for our X1 product, which is a truly transformative experience. We are also pleased with the continued rapid growth of business services, which has quickly become an important engine for the company. NBCUniversal had another excellent quarter with double-digit operating cash flow growth driven by solid results in each segment and a first place finish for NBC for the 2013/2014 broadcast television season."