Comcast: Last News

As streamer bundling accelerates, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said today the  company will introduce a combo of Peacock , Netflix and Apple TV+ this month “at a vastly reduced price to anything that is in the market now.”

Bob Iger, CEO2023 compensation: $31.6M/+110.7%Median employee compensation $54,010Iger pay ratio to median employee: 595 It was a contentious time for the congenitally congenial Disney chief. First, he made some ill-considered remarks at Sun Valley, a conference for media barons held in a posh resort, characterizing striking actors’ demands as “not realistic.” Those words were slammed by SAG-AFTRA head Fran Drescher, with Iger becoming exhibit A for corporate greed.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Cardi B is joining the parade of celebrities starting to talk about the Olympics for NBCUniversal. The rapper appears in a 90-second promo Saturday evening during NBC’s telecast of the Kentucky Derby, meeting up; with sprinter and Olympic hopeful Sha’Carri Richardson that spotlights the next Summer Olympics, slated to begin July 26. NBCU and its corporate parent, Comcast, hold rights to broadcast the athletic extravaganza in the U.S.

Major League Baseball fans have struck out from watching their teams, as Comcast and Diamond Sports Group failed to reach a new carriage agreement.

Comcast said chairman and chief executive Brian Roberts‘ pay package for 2023 totaled $35.47 million, up from $32 million the year before. It included a $2.5 million base salary, stock awards valued at about $15 million, $9.2 million in option awards and $8.55 million in what’s called non-equity incentive plan compensation – like a cash bonus.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, had a compensation package worth $35.47 million in 2023, as he saw his pay rise 11% from the year prior. Roberts, who oversees the cable giant and NBCUniversal, last year had a salary of $2.5 million, stock awards worth $15 million, stock options worth $9.2 million and a $8.55 million cash incentive bonus. In 2022, his compensation totaled about $32.1 million.

Comcast reported first quarter results that outpaced Wall Street expectations, with Peacock reaching 34 million subscribers but posting higher programming costs.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Comcast notched a small first quarter profit despite continued erosion in its core cable operations and a lack of new spending from advertisers at its NBCUniversal operations. The Philadelphia owner of NBC, USA and the Peacock streaming service said profit rose just 0.6% during the period, to $3.86 billion, or 97 cents a share, compared with $3.83 billion, or 91 cents a share in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose 1.2% to $30.06 billion.

Wonya Lucas, a veteran media exec who held the post of CEO for Hallmark Media Networks and TV One, has been appointed to Comcast‘s board of directors.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Wonya Lucas, former president and CEO of Hallmark Media Networks, has joined Comcast‘s board as an independent director. Comcast announced Lucas’s addition to the board, effective as of April 15, in an SEC filing Monday. She has not yet been appointed to serve as a member of any board committee, according to the filing.

Longtime NBC ad sales executive Krishan Bhatia has landed at Amazon as VP, Global Video Advertising Sales, a new position for a new team within ad sales focused on streaming TV offerings across live sports, Amazon Freevee, Twitch, Prime Video ads, and third-party publishers.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Charter Communications is about to play a guest-star role in the corporate drama surrounding Paramount Global. As if Shari Redstone’s media empire wasn’t under enough pressure, Paramount Global now is in the final few weeks of its most recent carriage agreement with Charter, the nation’s second largest cable operator behind Comcast. The two companies are in renewal discussions, the outcome of which will have significant influence on Paramount’s ability to deliver the free cash flow that media investors are expecting from the company that has lately posted big losses on streaming operations.

The FCC will vote on April 25 on whether to reinstate net neutrality rules, which would prohibit Comcast, AT&T and other internet providers from blocking or throttling internet traffic or creating paid fast lanes to consumers.

Comcast hosted about 300 at its Philadelphia headquarters Tuesday to highlight the technology side of its business, one that’s less covered than entertainment but sets it apart from media rivals, and gives its content an attractive home.

Meredith Woerner Deputy Editor, Variety.com Welcoming nominees and guests to the 76th DGA Awards, director, producer and writer Judd Apatow greeted the audience joking, “I’m your host Bradley Cooper in an even more beguiling Jewish nose.” Apatow opened up with a zinger drafting off the DGA’s history of never striking against the studios. He noted that his agents told him to hold out for more money for his fifth time as host of the ceremony: “But in the spirit of the DGA I accepted their first offer.” Taking aim at the current political landscape, Apatow addressed the crowd stating, “I swear to god if this is the only time you vote this year, you can all go fuck yourselves.” He noted the age of the likely nominees for the presidential election, Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

must be included on candidates’ signs, on mailers, and in television ads, in order to inform voters of who, or which entities, are sponsoring or funding certain political messages.According to the statute, a candidate or candidate campaign committee that seeks to air a television advertisement must include a “visual legend” constituting “20 scan lines in size” in the ad reading, “Paid for by [name of the candidate or campaign committee sponsoring the ad].”If the ad references another candidate by name — as Woolf’s does, specifically mentioning Roem — the candidate must include a disclosure statement spoken by the sponsoring candidate, saying: “I am” or “This is” followed by their name, the office for which they are running, and disclosing that the candidate or their campaign “paid for this ad.”Because Woolf’s ad lacked notification about the office for which he is running, it technically violated the law. The law does not deal with the content of any ad or mailer.

“The Office.” But it joins an already crowded landscape with well-established rivals like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and Disney+.Peacock is also debuting without its main draw, the Tokyo summer Olympics, which were postponed until 2021. Production of a slew of original shows has likewise been frozen by the pandemic. And so far, the service won’t be available on the nation’s two largest streaming players, Roku and Amazon Fire TV.The service did, however, ink a last-minute deal with Sony on Tuesday to stream it on PlayStation 4 consoles starting the week of July 20.Peacock will have three tiers: a limited one that’s free, an all-inclusive one that’s $4.99 a month with ads and an all-inclusive one that’s $9.99 a month without ads.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion Monday that sends the racial discrimination case filed by entrepreneur Byron Allen back to an appellate court with a stricter definition of the bias that Allen needs to prove in order for the lawsuit to proceed in federal court.