Comcast Leans On Sports As Revenue Slides and Cord-Cutting Grows

NBC Sports parent company Comcast sees its upcoming rights portfolio as a key tool to fight a mixed set of financial results and broader economic uncertainty.

Comcast reported declines in revenue, net income, and cable and broadband subscribers Thursday for the first quarter of 2025, a period that included impacts from accelerating cord-cutting, heightened competition, and global turbulence due to tariffs pursued by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Similar to prior quarters, though, Comcast sees its sports content as a critical driver, with its rights including the National Football League, the Olympics, the Premier League, the 2026 FIFA World Cup for U.S. Spanish-language audiences, and the Big Ten Conference, among other properties, and beginning this fall, the National Basketball Association. In particular, NBC Sports will have a major confluence next February of its coverage of Super Bowl LX, the 2026 Winter Olympics, and the NBA All-Star Game. 

“We broadcast the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics right at the same time, and [then] the World Cup, which puts us in a very enviable position,” said Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts on an earnings call with analysts. “I really like our strategy, our balance sheet strength, regardless of global uncertainty. I feel we have a fantastic and unique company, and I’m quite optimistic.”

Broader Issues

The Peacock streaming service posted another big quarter, rising from 36 million subscribers at the end of 2024 to 41 million, with that boost coming primarily from a carriage with Charter Communications that allows Peacock to be bundled into that company’s cable packages. Peacock also grew its quarterly revenue 16% to $1.2 billion and cut its adjusted losses by more than half to $215 million as it moves closer to profitability, with the breadth of live sports content again cited as a key component.

Comcast, however, said its overall revenue fell 0.6% to $29.89 billion, and net income dropped 12.5% to $3.38 billion. Cable subscribers decreased by 427,000 to a new total of 12.1 million as cord-cutting grows further across the industry, while the company’s broadband customers also declined by 199,000 to 31.6 million. 

“In this intensely competitive environment, we are not winning the marketplace that is commensurate with the strength of [our] network and connectivity products,” said Comcast president Mike Cavanagh. 

Investors showed their frustration with those results, dropping Comcast shares by nearly 4% in Thursday trading to $33.19 per share, near a 52-week low. 

Comcast is still proceeding with plans to spin off most of its cable channels later this year.