Comcast’s cable TV subscriber losses continued to accelerate in Q2 2023. We discuss whether Peacock is picking up the slack and how it will fare if the writers’ and actors’ strike continues into the new year.
News Stories (1:10)
Comcast video performance in Q2 2023 (8:50)
Cable TV subscribers are fleeing in droves at Comcast. The company lost another 543,000 subscribers in Q2 and is down 2.2 million, or 13%, since Q2 2022. All the indicators are that the route of the business is on, though it seems to be affecting some more than others.
Peacock, on the other hand, did well in the quarter. It picked up another 2 million subscribers, many of which came from Comcast video subs that lost access to Peacock as part of their service bundle. Comcast also narrowed the loss on the business and is on target to beat its estimate for 2023 losses of $3 billion.
Why people should cut Peacock some slack (15:30)
Analysts often malign Peacock as underperforming its peers in the direct-to-consumer market. It was a very late entrant to the direct-to-consumer market and has done very well since then. I explain why I think the service is solid and that pundits should cut the service some slack.
One criticism we both have of the service is that it dropped the free level of service. However, there could be some solid reasons why they did it.
Why Peacock is well positioned in the short term (19:30)
I explain why I think Peacock is well-positioned to weather the writers’ and actors’ strikes.
Strikers and services seem far apart on the issues (22:30)
It looks like key participants in the strikes are still very far apart. Netflix executives didn’t sound like a resolution was around the corner, nor did Fran Descher, the President of SAG-AFTRA.
Netflix might not be as well positioned as Peacock to weather a protracted strike. Still, it can draw on its extensive and quality international content to help keep it relevant to its audience. That said, English language content is its mainstay, and its absence will create a huge, unfillable hole.
