Comcast Bets Big on Sports, but NBA Price Tag Looms Large

Sports programming is driving more big results for NBC Sports parent Comcast Corp., but also creating some potential financial pitfalls for the company.

The company said Thursday that sports generated “record total sales” and “our largest sports commitments to date” for its recently concluded upfront, particularly through a historic confluence in February 2026 between the Winter Olympics in Italy, Super Bowl LX, and the NBA All-Star Game. It further lauded Peacock and what it called “the most robust live sports offerings on any streamer, and that position will only strengthen with the addition of NBA coverage this fall.”

The arrival of the NBA and its $2.5 billion annual-rights fee, however, is also creating a full year’s worth of cost amortization to the company that will be incurred in the fourth quarter of this year. The NBA rights fees also helped fuel a recent $3 per month price increase implemented for most Peacock streaming plans. 

“We’ve talked about all the reasons we like the NBA so much before. But it’s a big investment,” said Comcast president Mike Cavanagh in an earnings call Thursday, referring in part to the league’s global appeal and its ability to help round out the company’s annual sports programming lineup. 

The company additionally said there will be a tough earnings comparison coming in the third quarter due to the historic revenue and viewership boosts generated last year for the Paris Olympics. That situation, however, is expected to turn with the high-profile start expected for 2026.

Cable Considerations

A spin-off of most of Comcast’s cable television networks into a separate company called Versant remains on track for completion later this year. Executives, however, did not address a recent report that the company is developing a new sports-related linear channel to help complement programming on Peacock. The separation will protect Comcast from a significant part of downside risk from the ongoing decline of linear television. 

“Everything is tracking really nicely to have Versant launch at the beginning of next year, end of this year into next year,” Cavanagh said. “Great leadership team, lots of energy. The work is well underway. I think they will hit the ground running.”

Broader Results

Comcast, meanwhile, posted a mixed report for its second-quarter earnings. The company saw both its linear TV and internet connectivity subscribers fall again, continuing a downward trend from 2025’s first quarter, while Peacock stayed flat at 41 million subscribers. 

Conversely, revenue of $30.3 billion, up 2%, and net income of $11.1 billion, up 183%, both beat analyst expectations. Despite the flat Peacock subscriber total, the streaming service continues to move closer to profitability, trimming its adjusted quarterly loss to $101 million from a comparable $348 million in the same period last year, while boosting revenue by 20% to $1.2 billion. 

“Over time, we’ll have the opportunity to drive Peacock subscribers higher as we leverage the NBA and other content and the continuation of consumer trends moving from the linear ecosystem to the streaming ecosystem,” Cavanagh said.