27 Jul NBCUniversal’s Peacock Streaming Service is Growing, Thanks to Live Sports [CNBC]
BY LILLIAN RIZZO
July 27, 2023 | NBCUniversal’s sports portfolio has been driving growth at its streaming service Peacock, and the company has no plans to let up, with other sports rights deals top of mind.
Sports are a double-edged sword for media companies contending with relentless cord cutting and trying to make their streaming services profitable.
Live sports content has long been the glue holding together the traditional cable TV bundle, which is losing customers at a faster clip while costing media organizations more. At the same time, sports are serving as a propeller of growth for streaming, especially for fledgling services such as Peacock and Paramount Global’s Paramount+.
NBCUniversal’s parent company, Comcast, on Thursday touted that Peacock nearly doubled its customer count year over year to 24 million. Sports were a big part of the conversation.
“Sports continues to be a huge driver, with the NFL, Nascar, golf, Premier League, the World Cup on Telemundo — including the Women’s World Cup going on right now — Big Ten starting this fall, and the Paris Olympics coming up next year,” President Mike Cavanagh said on an investor call after Comcast’s second-quarter earnings report.