Comcast: Sky offsets cord cutters
July 25, 2019
Comcast reported second-quarter revenues up 23.6 per cent to $26.9 billion (€24.1bn), driven by its acquisition of Sky. Adjusted EBITDA rose 17.5 per cent to $8.7 billion, while net profit dipped 2.8 per cent to €3.1 billion.
Customer growth was led by Sky, which added 304,000 subscribers in the quarter, nearly triple the year-earlier figure. It ended June with just over 24 million customers. Excluding currency effects, Sky’s revenue increased 2.4 per cent, primarily driven by higher content and direct-to-consumer revenue, partially offset by lower advertising revenue.
This contrasted with Comcast’s cable operations in the US, where the company lost another 224,000 TV subscribers. Broadband growth remained strong in the US, with 209,000 net additions, increasing further the share of single-play customers. Xfinity Mobile customers increased by 181,000 in the three months to take the total base over 1.5 million.