Comcast Corp. Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts views the company, with a technology platform running across geographies, as a content aggregator.
At an industry conference, Roberts highlighted X1, Sky Q, Flex, Sky Glass and now XClass televisions, all of which can function through voice remote. He told investors that when the company launches an app, it can "seamlessly work" across 50 million devices.
 Xfinity Flex is a streaming platform for Xfinity internet customers. Source: Comcast |
Roberts underlined his point by noting that Apple Inc.'s AppleTV+ became available on Comcast's U.S. platforms on March 7. From March 15 through March 21, Apple will offer Xfinity customers a free preview of Apple TV+ original series and films across X1, Flex and Stream. Additionally, Xfinity customers who are not Apple TV+ subscribers can receive a free three-month trial of the content service when they sign up via an Xfinity device by April 25.
"We see ourselves as an aggregator," Roberts said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to offer that technology even more broadly throughout the world over time and continue to be an innovation engine where people want to work and people want to consume our products."
The company offers access to other streaming services, including Netflix Inc., Walt Disney Co.'s Disney+ and Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video, maintaining customer relationships within the Xfinity ecosystem via broadband connections, while also gaining a piece of attendant subscription revenue.
As to NBCUniversal Media LLC's aggregate streaming service, Peacock, Roberts reiterated comments he and NBCU CEO Jeff Shell made on the company's fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call, noting that the $4.99 per month offering with a light ad load is driving consumer uptake. Peacock is also available as a free, ad-supported service with less content, as well as a $9.99 premium offering without commercials.
Pointing to NBCU's large position in the TV ad market, Roberts said, "It makes sense to make an advertising-centric service as compared to an ad-free service." When subscription fee and advertising are added together, the company is collecting around or slightly more than $10 per monthly user, Roberts said.
Disney on March 4 announced it will launch an ad-supported version of Disney+ in the U.S. later this year and internationally in 2023. Disney will become the last of the media conglomerates to enter the ad-supported subscription realm already home to Peacock and offerings from Discovery Inc., Warner Media LLC and Paramount Global.
Peacock has just come off a strong period on the content side with coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl and the release of "Bel-Air," a dramatic reboot of venerable comedy series "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Moreover, "Marry Me," which premiered in theaters and Peacock on Valentine's Day, is now the service's most-streamed film.
The company recently negotiated its pay 1 movie deal for theatricals from Universal, Focus, Dreamworks and Illumination — all of which previously ran on HBO / Cinemax (US). Beginning this quarter, such theatricals will run on Peacock for four months. In turn, the movies will follow for 10 months on either Amazon Prime Video or Netflix, depending on the type of film. They will conclude the 18-month pay 1 window by returning to Peacock for the final four months.
"The money we took in is more than the money we were getting from HBO, and Peacock will be a tremendous beneficiary," said Roberts.
He also referenced the move to bring new episodes of some NBCU series content back from Hulu. That migration will begin in September.
Asked about its positioning as a content supplier, Roberts said it is "somewhere between" wanting to bolster the portfolio and monetizing productions with third parties.
"I think we clearly want to focus on building Peacock. And therefore, that's the first look and the first home," Roberts said. "But we're very much a provider of content."
As an example, he mentioned "The Gilded Age," a series produced by Universal nearing the end of its first-season run on HBO. Roberts noted that the company is engaged with joint productions around the world.