Philadelphia cable juggernaut Comcast Corp. _ fresh off its defeat in the bidding war for 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets _ touted strong second-quarter earnings Thursday by boosting its broadband internet subscriber numbers.
Revenue was flat at its NBCUniversal media unit due to a weak performance from Universal filmed entertainment in Los Angeles. But there was growth at MSNBC, which continues to enjoy a "Trump bump," and other cable TV channels. Spanish-language Telemundo gained market share with its broadcast of the FIFA World Cup from Russia, generating record ratings with Mexico's early round win over Germany.
Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts glossed over his decision to concede the Fox assets to the Walt Disney Co., which agreed to pay $71.3 billion.
Comcast remains in the hunt to buy European pay-TV giant Sky and it has the highest bid _ $34 billion _ although Disney and Fox are expected to drive up the price of Sky with another bid.
"We are focused on Sky now," Roberts told analysts. "In the case of Fox, it was a unique opportunity. We thought it was mostly about an international expansion opportunity. Ultimately we pulled back because we thought that we couldn't build enough shareholder value."
Overall, Comcast revenue increased 2.1 percent to $21.74 billion on the strength of its internet service business. Comcast's net income soared 27.6 percent to to $3.2 billion _ or 69 cents per share _ from $2.5 billion, or 52 cents per share, during the 2017 second quarter.
The company surpassed analyst estimates with adjusted profit of 65 cents per share. Thomson Reuters had estimated 60 cents.
"I'm really pleased with our quarterly results," Roberts said. "We have a unique and special company with a terrific team and great operating momentum."
Comcast added a net of 182,000 customers in the quarter with 260,000 new broadband Internet customers. It lost 136,000 cable TV subscribers in the quarter. The company provides at least one of its products (broadband internet, phone or cable TV service) to 29.8 million customers. Cable revenue increased 3.4 percent to $13.7 billion.
At NBCUniversal, the film studio was the weakling.
Filmed entertainment revenue declined 20 percent to $1.7 billion as the film unit faced tough comparisons because last year's "The Fate of the Furious" was driving box office results. Universal opened its big summer bet, "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" in late June so it had less than 10 days of box office returns. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Comcast's metric for profit) for the studio fell 52 percent to $138 million.
NBCUniversal's largest division _ its cable TV channels, including CNBC, Syfy, USA, Bravo and E! _ grew revenue 8 percent to $2.9 billion. Cable channel adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization topped $1 billion, an increase of 12.5 percent.
The NBC broadcast network, TV stations and Telemundo increased revenue 6.7 percent to $2.4 billion. Broadcast EBITA was up less than 1 percent to $417 million. The division had higher costs to cover the World Cup in Russia.
Theme parks, including Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., and Los Angeles grew revenue 3.6 percent to $1.4 billion. Theme park earnings were up 3.4 percent to $569 million.
In early morning trading, Comcast stock was up 3 percent to around $34 a share.
Comcast's diversity of businesses _ the company acquired NBCUniversal in 2011 _ has helped it grapple with industry challenges. Traditional media companies like NBCUniversal have seen their turf invaded by tech giants, including Netflix, Facebook, Amazon.com and Apple, which have deep pockets, global businesses and direct relationships with consumers.
But even as customers cut the cable cord, they still pay for internet service and Comcast is the nation's largest Internet service provider.
