It’s true that millions of people keep cutting ties with cable TV. In fact, in the last quarter alone, 408,000 households cut the cord from leading cable TV provider Comcast. The company reported having just over 18.5 million video subscribers at the end of the third quarter of 2021, down dramatically from 20.1 million the same period last year and 21.4 million at the end of Q3 2019. Not exactly a great trend.
More than just cable subscriptions
TV subscriptions aren’t the only way Comcast makes money. Advertising is a big part of their business too. Even with the drop in subscriptions, the cable video revenue actually increased 1.4% year-over-year in Q3 to $5.5 billion as a result of advertising and cable TV subscription price increases.
In addition, they offer wireless service (Xfinity Mobile), and of course the bread and butter of the business, broadband internet. In total, Comcast’s cable segment revenue increased 7.4% year-over-year to $16.1 billion in Q3. Not too bad for a business model being “decimated” by streaming services like Netflix.
Household relationships on the rise
Even with the loss in households cutting the cord on traditional cable TV and home phones, the total number of Comcast’s household relationships increased 4% to 34 million with the help of wireless and broadband services.
Also bear in mind Comcast owns NBCUniversal. To help combat the cord cutting, NBCUniversal put out it’s own streaming service last year called Peacock. Revenue from Peacock jumped to $230 million in Q3 this year, compared to just $41 million last year.
Comcast is a value stock. The company isn’t going to captivate headlines with incredible growth numbers. However, it’s a solid business for steady income and gradual growth over time. After the Q3 2021 report, it remains a part of our value stock basket in our portfolio at Concinnus Financial.
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