NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is helping its parent company Comcast soar to new heights, according to the company’s latest earnings report.

Comcast reported revenue of $27.2 billion in Q1 2021 — a $600 million increase year-over-year — thanks in part to Peacock.

The service now has 42 million subscribers in the U.S., up from 33 million in Q4 2020. 

Comcast credits much of that growth to its exclusive World Wrestling Entertainment rights. In January, Peacock struck a five-year deal with WWE valued at more than $1 billion with WWE. The move brought over 1.2 million subscribers from the now-defunct WWE Network.

WrestleMania 37, held earlier this month, was the most-viewed live event in Peacock history.

Exact viewership numbers were not disclosed, but the No. 1 ranking is notable because the service also carries Premier League matches and select NFL games. 

Peacock expects to spend at least $2 billion in its first two years to build its offerings. It also recently secured exclusive rights to stream the 2021 Premier Lacrosse League season. In a landmark moment for the sport, PLL merged with Major League Lacrosse in December.

BT Sport, the sports broadcast division of British telecommunications giant BT Group, could be sold to a U.S.-based media company.

According to BT, discussions are being held with “select strategic partners.” Joint ventures, partnerships, full disposals, and stake sales are all potential options. Multinational investment bank Lazard is advising the process.

Possible bidders for BT Sport, per Telegraph: 

• Disney
• Amazon
• DAZN

BT Group’s stock reached its highest price in over a year on the London Stock Exchange today. The company has been moving away from sports to focus on fiber optic internet, 5G networks, and the suite of apps available through its BT TV service.

The group faced backlash in 2012 when it outbid the U.K.’s popular sports broadcaster Sky for Premier League soccer. BT Sport launched a year later.

“Should BT get the opportunity to make a profitable exit from a business they entered in 2012 that has absorbed 9 billion pounds ($12.6 billion) of rights costs, they should go for it,” media analyst Claire Enders told Bloomberg.

BT’s sports division offers subscription packages for a range of leagues and events, from Premier League and UFC to MotoGP.

Bitcoin is practically synonymous with “cryptocurrency,” but another digital coin is having a moment and could eventually surpass Bitcoin as the dominant decentralized currency.

Ethereum hit a record high of $2,800 on Thursday. Dallas Mavericks owner and crypto convert Mark Cuban has called Ethereum “the closest we have to a true currency.”

The network that backs it, Ether, is in the midst of a major upgrade that will overhaul its fee structure and could boost its speed.

Dapper Labs initially used Ethereum for NBA Top Shot but switched to its own software, Flow, due to speed and cost issues it had with the cryptocurrency in one of its games.

“Bitcoin, right now, has evolved to be primarily a store value, and it’s very difficult to use it for anything else,” Cuban said on the Unchained podcast. “I think the applications leveraging smart contracts and extensions on Ethereum will dwarf Bitcoin.”

Ethereum is already popular in the sports world.

• Rob Gronkowski sold a set of NFTs that could only be purchased with Ethereum for $1.75 million. 
• Soon-to-be top NFL Draft pick Trevor Lawrence received his bonus from sponsor Blockfolio in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
• The fantasy soccer NFT company Sorare uses the Ethereum blockchain.

While still at only a third of Bitcoin’s nearly $1 trillion market cap, Ethereum’s had a huge year: The coin is up 1,182% from where it was one year ago.