By Shalini Ramachandran
Some 70% of views garnered by NBC's "The Tonight Show" starring
Jimmy Fallon occur online and aren't counted in traditional TV
ratings, said Steve Burke, chief executive of Comcast Corp.'s
NBCUniversal, underscoring the pressures facing TV networks across
the board.
Speaking on Comcast's fourth-quarter earnings conference call,
Mr. Burke added his voice to the chorus of media executives calling
for measurement to improve as major television networks experience
ratings declines.
"I think there clearly is room for improvement," Mr. Burke said.
"That is not going to last forever."
Mr. Burke also addressed weakness at NBCU's cable networks
division, which experienced an ad revenue drop of 5.6% on ratings
declines. He attributed the viewership falloff to a number of
factors, including the plethora of new shows available and changing
viewer habits, as more people watch online video or tune in after
live airing on their digital video recorders. Cable networks'
operating cash flow--a measure of profitability--declined 1.8% to
$912 million.
Mr. Burke said the cable networks are "still a good business"
but "it is going to be a tougher business to grow" in the coming
years. Still, he said he remains optimistic about "tremendous
growth potential" at NBCU in the future.
Comcast overall reported that fourth-quarter profit edged up
0.6% thanks to growth in its broadband and business-services
divisions, even as video customer additions slowed sharply. The
company added 6,000 video customers in the quarter, a sharp decline
from the 46,000 it added a year ago.
Meanwhile, Comcast's subscriber growth in broadband and voice
slowed. Comcast added 375,000 broadband subscribers, down from
379,000 a year ago. Voice subscriber additions dropped to 123,000,
from 227,000 in the prior-year period, driven by more customers
opting for two-product bundles rather than the full "triple play."
Comcast boosted its broadband revenue 9.9%, while voice revenue
declined 1.4%. Business-services revenue jumped 21%.
Regulators in Washington are scrutinizing Comcast's pending
acquisition of Time Warner Cable Inc. Cable investors also have
been concerned about the potential impact of the Federal
Communications Commission's proposal to regulate broadband service
like a public utility.
On the conference call, Comcast Chief Financial Officer Mike
Angelakis said that the uncertainty created by such a move toward
stricter regulation will cause Comcast to administer greater
"internal scrutiny" on its investments plans in its broadband
business. But Comcast executives said they would have to look at
details of the order before making final judgments.
Comcast's residential video revenue grew 1.3% in the quarter,
continuing a trend of slower growth as the company hasn't raised
rates as sharply as before and it markets skinnier bundles of TV
channels to customers. On the call, Comcast Chief Executive Brian
Roberts repeated past statements that Comcast's focus is on
offering video services inside its cable footprint, rather than
offering nationwide Web TV services like one recently launched by
Dish Network Corp.
Comcast continued to show cautious interest in offering more
services off of its roughly eight million Wi-Fi hotspots. Recently,
New York-based Cablevision Systems Corp. started offering a mobile
phone service that works off of its network of Wi-Fi hotspots.
Comcast Cable President Neil Smit said Comcast is "still assessing
possibilities" to monetize its Wi-Fi network and is "working on
ways to bring it to market over the coming months."
Overall at the company's cable business, which accounts for the
bulk of the top line, revenue increased 6.1% to $11.3 billion.
Operating cash flow, a measure of profitability, rose 6.3% to $4.68
billion.
At NBCUniversal, operating cash flow rose 6.6% to $1.43 billion,
despite continued softness at its cable networks unit. The theme
parks division experienced a 38% increase in operating cash flow to
$352 million, thanks to the popularity of a new "Harry Potter"
attraction at the Universal Orlando theme park. Total revenue at
NBCUniversal rose 2.3% to $6.62 billion.
Despite Mr. Burke's comments about Mr. Fallon's show, the
broadcast-TV segment that houses NBC reported relatively better
results, buoyed by strong ratings last year at NBC. Revenue at the
segment grew 4.8%, and operating cash flow rose to $230 million,
from $140 million in the year-ago quarter.
Comcast overall reported a profit of $1.93 billion, or 74 cents
a share, slightly up from $1.91 billion, or 72 cents a share, a
year earlier. Excluding certain gains and costs, adjusted profit
per share for the latest quarter grew 17% to 77 cents a share.
Revenue rose 4.8% to $17.73 billion.
Comcast also said it would increase its dividend 11% to $1 a
share on an annualized basis and boost its stock-repurchase program
to $10 billion. It said it would buy back $4.25 billion of shares
in 2015, regardless of whether its pending $45 billion acquisition
of Time Warner Cable closes.
Write to Shalini Ramachandran at
shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com
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