Brian Roberts: Last News

Trustees of New York City’s $250 billion pension funds have warned Disney, Paramount and Comcast that they risk losing investor confidence if they allow the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes to drag on much longer. The WGA has been on strike since May 2, and SAG-AFTRA since July 14.

Disney interim chief financial officer Kevn Lansberry said the company is “very comfortable with our current liquidity position” as the time approaches for it to buy Comcast’s one-third stake in Hulu.

Mike Cavanagh, the president of Comcast who was recently named the de-facto head of NBC Universal, said the company remains “committed to reaching a fair deal [with actors and writers[ as soon as possible, so we can get back to doing what we do best, which making great content together.”

Media giant Comcast beat on its top and bottom line for the three months ended in June with theme parks and studio strong, even as the latter basks in another giant opening, for Opppenheimer, in the current third quarter.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Comcast reported its second-quarter 2023 earnings Thursday, revealing theatrical revenue rose 65.9% year over year with the release of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” while Peacock added just 2 million more subscribers over the three month period. At the end of Q1, Comcast said the NBCUniversal streamer had reached 22 million U.S.

The news Thursday about Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langley’s ascent to bring TV content under her domain doesn’t just speak to the greater NBCUniversal plan to have a more unified strategy across theatrical, TV and streaming.

The CEO of NBCUniversal parent Comcast said it’s “more likely than not” the company will end up selling its third of Hulu to Disney, after his Mouse counterpart indicated clearly last week that this would be Disney’s preferred outcome. There’s been some grandstanding over the past year as the deadline approaches, but both of Hulu’s parents appear to be on or near the same page now.

Twitter has a new CEO.

Hadley Gamble, whose complaints led to the firing of ex-NBCUniversal boss Jeff Shell late last month, is leaving CNBC, the network said today.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Jeff Shell, the former chief executive of NBCUniversal, forfeited stock grants and options worth $43.3 million after he was fired for cause earlier this week, according to a Comcast regulatory filing. Shell was terminated as CEO of NBCU over the past weekend after an internal investigation into his relationship with Hadley Gamble, an international correspondent for CNBC. “As previously disclosed, Mr. Shell’s employment was terminated with cause on April 23, 2023. As a result, he did not receive any supplemental payments or benefits in connection with his termination,” Comcast said in its 2023 proxy statement. “He will receive only his accrued but unpaid base salary and vacation time, vested employee benefits and reimbursement for any unreimbursed business expenses in accordance with his employment agreement.”

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The first rumblings about Comcast considering a major change involving NBCUniversal started this time last year.Now, in the wake of NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell’s abrupt firing, industry speculation about what may be in store for the network-studio conglomerate has gone into what-if overdrive. Maybe NBCU merges with Hulu to become a stand-alone company. Maybe the cable operations of Comcast and the satellite business of the U.K.-based Sky are separated from NBCU.

Newly interim NBCUniversal boss Mike Cavanagh has spoken out on the Jeff Shell shocker for the first time and said he’ll be in the post overseeing the entertainment unit “for a while.”

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts kicked off the company’s first-quarter earnings call by acknowledging the abrupt dismissal of NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell last Sunday.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Comcast said it managed to boost profit during its fiscal first quarter even as it navigated a dip in media advertising and slowing growth among broadband subscribers, yet boosted U.S. subscribers to its Peacock streaming hub to 22 million. The Philadelphia owner of NBCUniversal, Sky and its large broadband and cable business said profit came to $3.83 billion, or 91 cents per share, compared with $3.55 billion, or 78 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Comcast reported earnings per share of 92 cents after adjusting for one-time items Revenue fell 4% to $29.69 billion, compared with $31.01 billion in the year-earlier period, thanks to comparisons with a quarter in 2022 that contained both the broadcast of the Super Bowl and the Beijing Olympics.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Top Comcast execs made their first public comments on the departure of NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell Thursday, remarks that came as the company reported its Q1 earnings results. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts opened a call with investors by saying Shell’s exit due to “inappropriate relationship” with a subordinate was “obviously a tough moment” adding, “we are so fortunate to have a fabulous and tenured leadership team at NBCUniversal.” “When you go down the list, you’ll see many of them have been leading their divisions within the company for at least 10 years and are the best in the business,” Roberts said. “We are also lucky to have Mike Cavanagh stepped in to help NBCUniversal while also remaining president.”

Jeff Shell looked more like a snowy-haired roadie than a VIP as he milled about in the wings of the Sahara Tent ahead of Blink-182’s set at Coachella on April 14. The NBCUniversal CEO had spent the day at the festival with his wife, Laura, in anticipation of the band’s first show in nearly a decade. Later, he took a seat alongside a leather-clad Kourtney Kardashian, whose long-running “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” holds a significant presence in the NBCUniversal spread, with all 20 seasons of the reality show having recently moved from Hulu to Peacock. But Shell wasn’t there on business. He enjoys close ties with the band’s bassist and co-lead vocalist, Mark Hoppus, a friendship forged thanks to their kids attending the same school in L.A.

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell was dismissed “with cause” due to “inappropriate conduct” and “sexual harassment” of an employee, according to a new SEC filing from parent company Comcast.

EXCLUSIVE: Multiple sources tell Deadline that the woman who filed the complaint against NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell for inappropriate conduct was CNBC anchor and Senior International Correspondent Hadley Gamble.

Comcast President Mike Cavanagh will take over Jeff Shell’s role at NBCUniversal as the former CEO exited suddenly Sunday after an investigation of inappropriate conduct.

Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said the media giant would of course consider alternative proposals for its stake in Hulu but they’d have to top its longstanding agreement to sell its remaining stake in the streamer to Disney next year.

13D and 13G reports. For those outside of the inside-baseball world of corporate finance: Forty-five days out from the end of the year, companies are required to have filed 13D and 13G disclosure forms with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are required for investors who amass 5% or more of a company’s total stock issue. Starting with this primer on how to monitor big-dollar investment bets, Variety will offer a quarterly survey of how the media and entertainment sector is faring among the world’s most sophisticated stock pickers.