Comcast—ad spending, facts and profile

Overview Comcast Corp. is a global media and entertainment company. Comcast’s headquarters is in Philadelphia. Business segments and operations Comcast has two primary businesses: Connectivity & Platforms: Broadband, wireless, video and wire line voice businesses in the U.S., U.K. and Italy; and Sky-branded entertainment TV networks in the U.K. and Italy. Content & Experiences: Media and entertainment businesses that produce and distribute entertainment, sports, news and other content for global audiences and that own and operate theme parks and attractions in the U.S. and Asia. Comcast reports its Content & Experiences business in three segments:Media, Studios and Theme Parks. Comcast’s brands include Comcast Business, NBC, Telemundo, Universal, Peacock, Sky and Xfinity. Comcast in November 2024 announced its intent to spin off a group of NBCUniversal’s cable TV channels as a standalone public company. See more about Comcast’s business and brands Marketing spending Worldwide ad spending: Total worldwide advertising spending figures shown in the Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers report are stated worldwide expenses for “marketing and promotion” (known as “advertising, marketing and promotion” prior to 2023). Comcast disclosed worldwide spending on marketing and promotion of $7.971 billion in 2023, down 6.3% from $8.506 billion in 2022. U.S. ad spending: Total U.S. advertising spending figures shown in the Ad Age Leading National Advertisers report are Ad Age Datacenter’s estimate of Comcast’s U.S. expenses for marketing and promotion. Amazon displaced Comcast as the biggest advertiser in the June 2020 ranking of Ad Age Leading National Advertisers based on calendar 2019 spending. Amazon has held the top spot based on estimated spending each year since then. Ad Age ranks Amazon based on estimated U.S. “advertising and other promotional costs.” Links to Ad Age’s advertiser rankings Latest rankings: U.S. The Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2024 ranking was released Oct. 28, 2024. Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2024 U.S. ad spending, rankings, analysis and profiles for the biggest marketers Click here Past rankings: U.S. Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2023 Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2022 Latest rankings: worldwide The Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2024 ranking was released Dec. 9, 2024. Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2024 Global ad spending, rankings, analysis and profiles for the biggest marketers Click here Past rankings: worldwide Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2023 Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2022 Financial results See more: Comcast financial results Read Comcast’s annual filing Deals and strategic moves Cable TV networks spinoff: Comcast in November 2024 announced its intent to spin off a group of NBCUniversal’s cable TV channels as a new standalone public company. The new company would own networks including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel along with digital assets including Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and Sports Engine. Comcast expected to complete the spin-off in approximately one year (implying a completion date of late 2025). Hulu sale: NBCUniversal previously owned an approximately 33% stake in Hulu, a streaming service. Disney owned the rest and had full operational control of Hulu. Comcast in November 2023 exercised its right to sell its Hulu stake to Disney, giving Disney 100% ownership of Hulu. Sky: Comcast in 2018 bought Sky, a U.K.-based satellite TV firm. Comcast in September 2018 beat rival 21st Century Fox in an auction to acquire Sky. British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc (BSkyB) changed its name to Sky Plc in 2014. 21st Century Fox: The Sky acquisition came after Comcast in July 2018 abandoned a short-lived attempt to acquire 21st Century Fox. Comcast’s exit cleared the way for Walt Disney Co. to proceed with a deal to acquire 21st Century Fox. Disney completed its acquisition of 21st Century Fox on March 20, 2019. Termination of Time Warner Cable acquisition: Comcast and Time Warner Cable in April 2015 terminated a deal for Comcast to buy Time Warner Cable, then the nation’s No. 2 cable-systems operator and No. 4 multichannel video programming distributor (behind Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network Corp.). The companies in February 2014 had announced the deal, valued at about $45.2 billion, but the merger faced strong pushback from the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department. Charter Communications bought Time Warner Cable in May 2016. Acquisition of NBCUniversal: Comcast on March 19, 2013, bought General Electric Co.’s remaining 49% stake in NBCUniversal for about $16.7 billion, giving Comcast 100% ownership of NBCUniversal. At the same time, Comcast purchased from GE the properties used by NBCUniversal at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York and CNBC’s headquarters in New Jersey for about $1.4 billion. Comcast acquired its initial 51% stake from GE on Jan. 28, 2011, allowing Comcast to consolidate NBCUniversal’s financials with Comcast’s financials. Comcast calculated the purchase price at $24.1 billion. GE retained a 49% stake until the March 2013 sale. Olympics broadcast rights: The International Olympic Committee in May 2014 awarded NBCUniversal U.S. broadcast rights for the Olympic Games through 2032. The broadcast rights cover all media platforms, including free-to-air TV, subscription TV, internet and mobile. The IOC valued the agreement for 2021-2032 rights at $7.65 billion (plus an additional $100 million “signing bonus”). NBCUniversal already owned broadcast rights through 2020. Following the conclusion of the Summer Olympics in 2024, NBC has broadcast 19 Olympic Games, including 13 consecutive Olympic Games. By 2032, NBCUniversal will have covered 23 Olympic Games since the network’s first Games broadcast in Tokyo in 1964. Other deals: NBCUniversal, through its Fandango unit, in April 2020 purchased Vudu from Walmart. Vudu, acquired by Walmart in 2010, lets consumers watch movies delivered over broadband. Comcast in February 2020 bought Xumo, a free, ad-supported content streaming service, from Panasonic Corp. and Meredith Corp. In announcing the deal, Comcast said Xumo would operate as an independent business inside of Comcast Cable. NBCUniversal in September 2019 announced Peacock as the name of a content streaming service. Peacock, which generates revenue from advertising and subscriptions, launched in 2020. Comcast in 2018 entered a deal with a group of Chinese state-owned companies to develop a Universal theme park and resort in Beijing. The park and resort opened in September 2021. Comcast owns a 30% stake in the venture. NBCUniversal in April 2017 bought the remaining 49% stake in Universal Studios Japan for about $2.3 billion, giving it 100% ownership. It had purchased a 51% stake for $1.5 billion in November 2015. Time Warner’s Warner Bros. in April 2016 sold its Flixster business (including Rotten Tomatoes, a movie-review analysis website) to Comcast’s NBCUniversal in exchange for a 25% stake in NBCUniversal’s Fandango. Management and employees Brian Roberts is Comcast’s chairman and CEO. His father, Ralph Roberts, formed the business in the 1960s. See more: Comcast management See more: Comcast careers Stock Comcast trades on Nasdaq under ticker CMCSA. Comcast in 1969 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. Comcast completed its IPO in 1972. History Comcast traces its roots to 1963 when Ralph Roberts, through International Equity Corp., bought American Cable Systems, a 1,200-subscriber cable system in Tupelo, Mississippi. Roberts had formed International Equity Corp. to invest in new businesses after he sold Pennsylvania-based Pioneer Suspender Co., which made belts and suspenders. American Cable Systems in 1969 was renamed Comcast (short for “communications” and “broadcasting”) and incorporated in Pennsylvania. Ralph Roberts died on June 18, 2015, at age 95. Comcast displaced Time Warner as the nation’s largest media company after Time Warner completed its spinoff of Time Warner Cable in 2009. Charter Communications bought Time Warner Cable in 2016. See more: Comcast history Historical ties: Comcast, General Electric Co., AT&T and NBC have historical connections. In 1919, GE led a consortium—consisting of GE, American Telephone & Telegraph Co., Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. (GE’s longtime rival) and United Fruit Co. (an early investor in radio technology)—to form a radio manufacturer, Radio Corporation of America (RCA), as a reorganization of Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. of America. In 1926, RCA formed National Broadcasting Co., or NBC, which operated multiple radio broadcast networks. NBC delivered content to affiliates over AT&T long-distance lines. To avoid antitrust issues, AT&T sold New York station WEAF to RCA and dropped out of the RCA owners’ consortium. NBC (originally 50% owned by RCA, 30% by GE and 20% by Westinghouse) served affiliates of WEAF (now WFAN-AM, owned by Audacy), over Red Network, and WJZ (now WABC-AM, owned by Red Apple Media), over Blue Network. In 1930, the Justice Department brought antitrust action against RCA, GE and Westinghouse. Under a consent decree in 1932, GE and Westinghouse agreed to sell their stakes in RCA. To resolve antitrust issues, RCA in 1943 sold Blue Network, which became American Broadcasting Co. (Disney in 1996 bought Capital Cities/ABC, bringing ABC into the Disney fold. Disney spun off the ABC radio network and radio stations in 2007.) In 1986, GE bought RCA Corp., parent of NBC. The next year, GE sold RCA’s consumer electronics business. The RCA brand now is owned by Talisman Brands, which licenses it to marketers in various categories. GE sold NBCUniversal to Comcast in two transactions in 2011 and 2013. Westinghouse evolved into Paramount Global. In December 2001, Comcast signed a deal to buy AT&T Broadband, the cable systems business of AT&T Corp. (successor to American Telephone & Telegraph Co.), making Comcast No. 1 in cable systems. The press release announcement issued by AT&T Corp. and Comcast said: “The new company, to be called AT&T Comcast Corporation, will be one of the leading and most powerful communications, media and entertainment companies in the world.” While Comcast initially planned to use the name “AT&T Comcast,” it ditched “AT&T” and kept the name “Comcast Corp.” when the deal closed in November 2002. Today’s AT&T Inc., a successor to AT&T Corp., competed against Comcast and other cable systems companies with DirecTV, a satellite TV service, and U-verse, a video, broadband and voice service. AT&T in July 2015 acquired DirecTV, the nation’s largest satellite TV service. AT&T in July 2021 split off its U.S. video business into a new company, DirecTV Entertainment Holdings. The new DirecTV owned and operated AT&T’s former U.S. video business unit, consisting of the DirecTV, AT&T TV and U-verse video services. DirecTV in September 2024 signed a deal to buy rival satellite service Dish and streaming service Sling TV from EchoStar Corp. DirecTV in November 2024 terminated the Dish deal. AT&T in June 2018 bought Time Warner (renamed WarnerMedia), the parent of Warner Bros., Turner and Home Box Office. AT&T offloaded WarnerMedia less than four years after buying the company. AT&T and Discovery in May 2021 signed a deal to merge AT&T’s WarnerMedia with Discovery. Discovery in April 2022 completed its merger with WarnerMedia and changed Discovery’s name to Warner Bros. Discovery. Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2024 U.S. ad spending, rankings, analysis and profiles for the biggest marketers Click here

Comcast—ad spending, facts and profile

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