Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts expects that 2024 will be the “most losses we’ve had” for Peacock as the streamer continues to work towards profitability. His prediction factored in the company’s investment from its upcoming deal with the NBA, which will take effect in the 2025-26 season.
“It might theoretically [hurt profitability] in the short run, but in the long run, we’re super excited and think that’s factored into what we need to spend and what we’ll monetize,” he told Bloomberg’s Screentime conference on Thursday.
He emphasized that the company is focused on running Peacock as part of its overall media business and believes that more cable customers will transition to the service as cord-cutting continues.
“We got all the content on the Peacock, but we had to start at a very late date compared to other streaming companies,” he added. “We’ve been innovating in the changing landscape to work for our set of assets to give us a very sustainable path to be able to say to you that our media business is profitable, will continue to be profitable, and I believe will grow, despite the downward pressure because of the growth of Peacock.”
NBCUniversal and Amazon notably beat out Warner Bros. Discovery for the rights to the NBA, who is suing to enforce their matchings rights in a last-ditch effort to take the $1.8 billion package given to the tech giant. NBC is expected to pay $2.5 billion per year under the 11-year agreement.
When asked about WBD CEO David Zaslav’s belief that NBC is overpaying for the NBA rights, Roberts replied: ‘We’ll see, who knows? He’s suing to get it, so I don’t think that’s a good one.”
“We’re all basically paying the same price. In our case, we got the most quantity as well as some incredible quality. So the lifecycle of Peacock and where we’re at, it is going to be a big driver,” Roberts continued. “It’s a nine month product, it is relevant to a really growing, diverse young audience, exactly what we want for Peacock. It fits in with the schedule after Sunday Night Football. We’ve got Olympics, we’ve got many other great events. And so we think this is what the market was. About once every 25 years, 20 years, there’s a platform change. We were in the right place at the right time. Rick Cordella and Mike Cavanaugh, others, did a fantastic job making it happen, and we really admire what the NBA is going to do, has done, and we’re excited to be a partner.”
Roberts added that there’s a “real credible enthusiasm” at NBC Sports and across the company that the NBA deal will be a growth engine for many years to come.
“Hopefully it’ll be a 20, 30 year relationship or long after I’m gone,” he added.
In addition to the NBA, Roberts addressed ongoing speculation that Comcast could one day merge with Warner Bros. Discovery.
While he touted WBD’s “wonderful set of assets,” he argued that they’re “trying to do something very different” and that Comcast is “on a good track.” But he suggested that the current regulatory climate would not be an impediment to the company’s M&A strategy, noting “that’s not a reason I would give you as an answer not do something.”
“There’s always going to be conversations around how do we remain very relevant globally,” Roberts added. “But we have our own distribution, our own platforms and our own set of skills. I think that’s what we’re focused on.”
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