ITV

Tag: NBCUniversal

  • Hollywood’s wildchild Movies Now 2 HD to launch by July end

    Hollywood’s wildchild Movies Now 2 HD to launch by July end

    MUMBAI: Home to blockbuster movie titles, happy sitcoms, popular romcoms, cult classics- the Times Network’s English Entertainment Cluster has managed to find its space in the Indian cable TV and DTH sun despite it being a late entrant. And it has been continuously ramping up its offering targeted at discerning English content guzzling audiences.

    Now it has added another channel to that bouquet by announcing the launch of a new age Hollywood channel for Young India titled Movies Now 2 (MN2)

    With a library of 300 plus titles, the channel is slated to launch on 24 June 2016 at 9 pm. While the HD feed will roll out by end-July 2016, MN2 has signed a long term first output deal for the satellite rights with MGM which includes six to seven premieres a year. Apart for this, it has also partnered with Warner, SPN, NBCUniversal, etc for various hit titles.

    Positioning itself as the cinema of tomorrow, MN2 will have stylised content, right from a new identity and on-air look to an interesting library. It is also being promoted as a destination for some of the most high profile and appropriate titles across genres that are universally celebrated by youth. The Times Network has labelled MN2 as Hollywood’s wild brainchild channel with a ‘rebellious’ personality.

    Times Network English Entertainment Cluster senior VP and head Vivek Srivastava says he is excited about the launch as the channel has been honed for this free-spirited, opinionated, rebellious and “engaged youth looking for adventure, edgy and new-age stylised cinema. It is an all new Hollywood English channel experience for young India which is Sexy, Stylish and Smart.”

    But why choose the name Movies Now2? “Movies Now is an iconic name and we think it deserves an extension. Lot of research has been put into place before deciding this name. We want to go mass and make this colloquial,” explains Srivastava.

    Banking extensively on bold content, the channel plans to air it in programming blocks or on-air properties with quirky titles like Moviegasm which has been given a slot of 9 pm Monday to Friday; the Swag Nights segment broadcasts every Monday to Friday at 11 pm; BAE Love starts from June 2 every Saturday at 7 pm, while the weekend spoof festival 2wisted will telecast at 9 pm. Thug Life will showcase movies like Hangover III, Kick Ass 2, Bangkok Dangerous, the Oceans series, R.I.P.D, 21, etc on weekends at 11 pm.

    So have these segments been drawn up to give advertisers a reason to latch on to them? Clearing the doubt, Srivastava points out that hey have been created only to drive mass viewership. “The festivals are created for viewership and not sponsorship. But if this gets us business, there is no harm in that,” he jests. “Crisp segmentation, visible positioning backed with quality content makes a channel successful and that’s what we have done with MN2.”

    The channel will also premier a bevy of movies like Sin City 2, Hot Pursuit, 3 Days to Kill and Poltergeist to name a few. With no repeated content from the other two channels of the network, MN2 will have a mix of old and new content which will be routinely updated.

    Beaming through Intelsat, the new channel is part of the group’s English bouquet and carriage have been struck across all major DTH and cable TV platforms.

    With an already overcrowded movie space and with two movie channels already in the group, how will this channel have an edge over the rest? Srivastava believes the youth positioning and edgy indie and mainline films will do the trick. He asserts: “On the one hand we have roughly 400 Hindi/regional channels, but on the other hand we have a mere 40 English Entertainment channels. I think there is enormous space for multiple channels to be launched than what we have today.”

    The Moves Now 2 logo has been designed by Famous Innovations while the channel IDs and the promos were created in-house.

    Focussing on the beyond metro cities too, MN2 will extensively be promoted through traditional out of home (OOH) advertising. The OOH campaigns will begin from 28 July while marketing on television and print will be initiated with the launch of the channel. “We have always been aggressive with marketing our properties and we will continue to do so with MN2. Apart from the diverse promotions across our network, we have a robust TV and print advertising plan ready for action. We will significantly focus on digital platforms as well, voiced Srivastava.

    With approximately Rs 250-300 crore business in the English entertainment space, the group is just a few licences away from launching another English news and an entertainment channel.

    So watch this space for further action from the Times Network.

  • NBCUniversal announces Dreamworks Animation acquisition

    NBCUniversal announces Dreamworks Animation acquisition

    MUMKBAI: NBCUniversal announced the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation (NASDAQ: DWA).
     One of the world’s most admired family brands, DreamWorks Animation creates animated feature films, television series and specials, live entertainment and related consumer products. The studio will become part of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, which includes Universal Pictures, Fandango, and NBCUniversal Brand Development.

    “DreamWorks Animation is a great addition to NBCUniversal,” said Steve Burke, CEO of NBCUniversal. “Jeffrey Katzenberg and the DreamWorks organization have created a dynamic film brand and a deep library of intellectual property. DreamWorks will help us grow our film, television, theme parks and consumer products businesses for years to come. We have enjoyed extraordinary success over the last six years in animation with the emergence of Illumination Entertainment and its brilliant team at Illumination Mac Guff studio. The prospects for our future together are tremendous. We are fortunate to have Illumination founder Chris Meledandri to help guide the growth of the DreamWorks Animation business in the future.”

    Under the terms of the agreement, DreamWorks Animation has an equity value of approximately $3.8 billion. DreamWorks Animation stockholders will receive $41 in cash for each share of DreamWorks Animation common stock. The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of DreamWorks Animation and Comcast, and the controlling shareholder of DreamWorks Animation has approved the agreement by written consent.

    The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2016, subject to receipt of antitrust approvals in the U.S. and abroad, as well as the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

    Following the completion of the transaction, DreamWorks Animation CEO and co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg will become Chairman of DreamWorks New Media, which will be comprised of the company’s ownership interests in Awesomeness TV and NOVA. Katzenberg will also serve as a consultant to NBCUniversal.

    “Having spent the past two decades working together with our team to build DreamWorks Animation into one of the world’s most beloved brands, I am proud to say that NBCUniversalis the perfect home for our company; a home that will embrace the legacy of our storytelling and grow our businesses to their fullest potential,” said Katzenberg. “This agreement not only delivers significant value for our shareholders, but also supports NBCUniversal’s growing family entertainment business. As for my role, I am incredibly excited to continue exploring the potential of AwesomenessTV, NOVA and other new media opportunities, and can’t wait to get started.”

    The acquisition gives NBCUniversal broader reach to a host of new audiences in the highly competitive kids and family entertainment space, in both TV and film. It includes popular DreamWorks Animation film franchise properties, such as Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. It also includes a thriving TV operation that is a significant supplier of family programming, with hundreds of hours of original, animated content distributed across linear and SVOD platforms in more than 130 countries. Additionally, DreamWorks Classics, a large library of classic characters, including Where’s Waldo, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, will become part of the NBCUniversal portfolio, along with a successful consumer products business.

    Comcast was advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP on legal matters. DreamWorks Animation was advised on financial matters by Centerview Partners and on legal matters byCravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. DreamWorks Animation’s Board of Directors was advised on legal matters by Munger Tolles & Olson LLP.

  • NBCUniversal announces Dreamworks Animation acquisition

    NBCUniversal announces Dreamworks Animation acquisition

    MUMKBAI: NBCUniversal announced the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation (NASDAQ: DWA).
     One of the world’s most admired family brands, DreamWorks Animation creates animated feature films, television series and specials, live entertainment and related consumer products. The studio will become part of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, which includes Universal Pictures, Fandango, and NBCUniversal Brand Development.

    “DreamWorks Animation is a great addition to NBCUniversal,” said Steve Burke, CEO of NBCUniversal. “Jeffrey Katzenberg and the DreamWorks organization have created a dynamic film brand and a deep library of intellectual property. DreamWorks will help us grow our film, television, theme parks and consumer products businesses for years to come. We have enjoyed extraordinary success over the last six years in animation with the emergence of Illumination Entertainment and its brilliant team at Illumination Mac Guff studio. The prospects for our future together are tremendous. We are fortunate to have Illumination founder Chris Meledandri to help guide the growth of the DreamWorks Animation business in the future.”

    Under the terms of the agreement, DreamWorks Animation has an equity value of approximately $3.8 billion. DreamWorks Animation stockholders will receive $41 in cash for each share of DreamWorks Animation common stock. The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of DreamWorks Animation and Comcast, and the controlling shareholder of DreamWorks Animation has approved the agreement by written consent.

    The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2016, subject to receipt of antitrust approvals in the U.S. and abroad, as well as the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

    Following the completion of the transaction, DreamWorks Animation CEO and co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg will become Chairman of DreamWorks New Media, which will be comprised of the company’s ownership interests in Awesomeness TV and NOVA. Katzenberg will also serve as a consultant to NBCUniversal.

    “Having spent the past two decades working together with our team to build DreamWorks Animation into one of the world’s most beloved brands, I am proud to say that NBCUniversalis the perfect home for our company; a home that will embrace the legacy of our storytelling and grow our businesses to their fullest potential,” said Katzenberg. “This agreement not only delivers significant value for our shareholders, but also supports NBCUniversal’s growing family entertainment business. As for my role, I am incredibly excited to continue exploring the potential of AwesomenessTV, NOVA and other new media opportunities, and can’t wait to get started.”

    The acquisition gives NBCUniversal broader reach to a host of new audiences in the highly competitive kids and family entertainment space, in both TV and film. It includes popular DreamWorks Animation film franchise properties, such as Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. It also includes a thriving TV operation that is a significant supplier of family programming, with hundreds of hours of original, animated content distributed across linear and SVOD platforms in more than 130 countries. Additionally, DreamWorks Classics, a large library of classic characters, including Where’s Waldo, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, will become part of the NBCUniversal portfolio, along with a successful consumer products business.

    Comcast was advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP on legal matters. DreamWorks Animation was advised on financial matters by Centerview Partners and on legal matters byCravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. DreamWorks Animation’s Board of Directors was advised on legal matters by Munger Tolles & Olson LLP.

  • NBCU’s Fandango acquires Warner’s Flixster & Rotten Tomatoes

    NBCU’s Fandango acquires Warner’s Flixster & Rotten Tomatoes

    MUMBAI: Once known simply as an online movie ticketer, NBCUniversal’s Fandango has made impressive strides over the last several years to evolve its business into an experience brand that super-serves consumers throughout a movie’s lifecycle.

    Now going a step further, Fandango has signed an agreement to acquire digital movie brands Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, owned by Warner Bros Entertainment.

    The addition of Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, along with Fandango’s recent acquisition of on-demand video service M-GO, will expand the company’s theatrical ticketing business and create the industry’s premier digital network for all things movies.  

    With this acquisition, Fandango’s combined audience reach will grow to over 63 million unique visitors per month and more than 100 million mobile app downloads, and offer consumers the most comprehensive resource for movie information, theatrical ticketing, movie trailers and original video content for movie discovery, and home entertainment.  

    Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, including its world-famous Tomatometer rating tool (representing the percentage of positive professional reviews for a given film or television show) will continue as consumer-facing brands, as well as exciting new additions to Fandango’s digital network. As part of the deal, Warner Bros. Entertainment will take a minority ownership stake in Fandango and serve as an ongoing strategic partner. Fandango will remain a unit of NBCUniversal.

    “Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes are invaluable resources for movie fans, and we look forward to growing these successful properties, driving more theatrical ticketing and super-serving consumers with all their movie needs,” said Fandango president Paul Yanover. “Our new expanded network will also offer unparalleled capabilities for all of our exhibition, studio and promotional partners to reach a massive entertainment audience with innovative marketing and ticketing opportunities,” he added.

    In January, Fandango acquired M-GO, a leading digital distributor of new release and catalog movies to a wide variety of connected, over-the-top (OTT) and mobile devices including Android, iOS, Samsung, LG, Roku, and others. With M-GO (to be rebranded later this year), Fandango plans to work with exhibitors and studios to build streamlined solutions for “super tickets,” theatrical ticketing and home entertainment product bundles, gifts with purchase and other new promotional opportunities.

    Fandango’s vision for super-serving consumers throughout the movie lifecycle is also extending globally.  Just four months ago, Fandango made its first move internationally and acquired Brazil’s Ingresso.com, the top online ticketer in South America’s largest movie marketplace.
    The addition of Rotten Tomatoes will also strengthen Fandango’s presence overseas, as the Tomatometer is also used by international movie lovers.

    Fandango’s most recent acquisitions follow on the heels of the company’s record-breaking year in 2015, where it experienced 81 per cent growth in US ticketing, and for the first time in a single year, received more than one billion visits.

  • NBCU’s Fandango acquires Warner’s Flixster & Rotten Tomatoes

    NBCU’s Fandango acquires Warner’s Flixster & Rotten Tomatoes

    MUMBAI: Once known simply as an online movie ticketer, NBCUniversal’s Fandango has made impressive strides over the last several years to evolve its business into an experience brand that super-serves consumers throughout a movie’s lifecycle.

    Now going a step further, Fandango has signed an agreement to acquire digital movie brands Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, owned by Warner Bros Entertainment.

    The addition of Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, along with Fandango’s recent acquisition of on-demand video service M-GO, will expand the company’s theatrical ticketing business and create the industry’s premier digital network for all things movies.  

    With this acquisition, Fandango’s combined audience reach will grow to over 63 million unique visitors per month and more than 100 million mobile app downloads, and offer consumers the most comprehensive resource for movie information, theatrical ticketing, movie trailers and original video content for movie discovery, and home entertainment.  

    Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, including its world-famous Tomatometer rating tool (representing the percentage of positive professional reviews for a given film or television show) will continue as consumer-facing brands, as well as exciting new additions to Fandango’s digital network. As part of the deal, Warner Bros. Entertainment will take a minority ownership stake in Fandango and serve as an ongoing strategic partner. Fandango will remain a unit of NBCUniversal.

    “Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes are invaluable resources for movie fans, and we look forward to growing these successful properties, driving more theatrical ticketing and super-serving consumers with all their movie needs,” said Fandango president Paul Yanover. “Our new expanded network will also offer unparalleled capabilities for all of our exhibition, studio and promotional partners to reach a massive entertainment audience with innovative marketing and ticketing opportunities,” he added.

    In January, Fandango acquired M-GO, a leading digital distributor of new release and catalog movies to a wide variety of connected, over-the-top (OTT) and mobile devices including Android, iOS, Samsung, LG, Roku, and others. With M-GO (to be rebranded later this year), Fandango plans to work with exhibitors and studios to build streamlined solutions for “super tickets,” theatrical ticketing and home entertainment product bundles, gifts with purchase and other new promotional opportunities.

    Fandango’s vision for super-serving consumers throughout the movie lifecycle is also extending globally.  Just four months ago, Fandango made its first move internationally and acquired Brazil’s Ingresso.com, the top online ticketer in South America’s largest movie marketplace.
    The addition of Rotten Tomatoes will also strengthen Fandango’s presence overseas, as the Tomatometer is also used by international movie lovers.

    Fandango’s most recent acquisitions follow on the heels of the company’s record-breaking year in 2015, where it experienced 81 per cent growth in US ticketing, and for the first time in a single year, received more than one billion visits.

  • FY-2015: Comcast Cable’s Q4-2015 video subscriber additions retard video subscriber decline

    FY-2015: Comcast Cable’s Q4-2015 video subscriber additions retard video subscriber decline

    BENGALURU: Comcast Corporation’s (Comcast) cable communications segment reported its best ever video results in terms of subscriber decline over nine years for the year ended 31 December, 2015 (FY-2015, current year). Video subscriber increase or retard, at least for the current quarter, seems to be a trend in the US, if one were to go by the results declared by a couple of other television signal carriers.

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million =1 crore

    Comcast Cable numbers

    Comcast Cable reported net additions of 89,000 in the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q4-2015, current quarter) as compared to net additions of 6,000 during the corresponding prior year quarter. In the previous quarter (Q3-2015), Comcast Cable had reported a decline of 48,000 video subscribers. For FY-2015, the segment reported 223.47 lakh video subscribers as compared to 223.83 lakh in FY-2014, a decline of just 36,000 as compared to the 196,000 subscribers that Comcast Cable had lost in FY-2014 vis-?-vis FY-2013.

    Customer relationships increased by 281,000 to 270.35 lakh during Q4-2015, a 57.6 per cent improvement compared to an increase of 178,000 in the fourth quarter of 2014, driven by increases in double product and triple product relationships. Video customer net additions of 89,000 were the best result for a quarter in eight years, high-speed Internet customer net additions of 460,000 were the best result for a fourth quarter in nine years, and Voice customer net additions improved to 139,000.

    For FY-2015, customer relationships increased by 666,000, an 85.9 per cent improvement compared to net additions of 358,000 in FY-2014. Video customer net losses of 36,000 improved by 81.7 per cent year-over-year and were the best result in nine years. High-speed Internet customer net additions of 1.4 million marked the tenth consecutive year of more than one million net additions, and were the best result in eight years. Voice customer net additions slowed to 282,000.

    Revenue for Cable Communications increased 5.9 per cent to $11,980 million in Q4-2015 compared to $11,313 million Q4-2014, driven by increases of 9.8 per cent in high-speed Internet, 4.4 per cent in video and 18.9 per cent in business services, partially offset by a 9.3 per cent decline in advertising due to lower political advertising revenue. Comcast says that the increase in Cable revenue reflects increased customer relationships (see below), customers receiving higher levels of service, customers taking additional services, as well as rate adjustments.

    For FY-2015, Cable revenue increased 6.2 per cent to $46,879 million compared to $44,140 million in FY-2014, driven by growth in high-speed Internet, business services and video.

    Company speak

    Comcast chairman and chief executive officer Brian L. Roberts said, “I am exceptionally proud of our results this year, which were driven by strong performances in each of our core businesses. At Comcast Cable, our focus on delivering the most innovative products and improving the customer experience led to fantastic operating metrics, including our best video customer results in nine years, and our best high-speed Internet customer results in eight years. NBCUniversal had a remarkable year, with record-breaking results at both Theme Parks and Film, and continued success at NBC, which was number one in primetime for the second consecutive season. As we enter 2016, the momentum we see across our portfolio is truly exciting. We are executing at the highest level, investing prudently, and energized and focused on driving growth and shareholder value. Underscoring our confidence in our company, we are increasing our dividend by 10 per cent to $1.10 per share and we also plan to repurchase $5.0 billion of our stock this year.”

    Overall numbers

    Consolidated Revenue for Q4-2015 increased 8.5 per cent to $19,245 million as compared to $17,732 million in Q4-2014. Consolidated Operating Cash Flow increased 6.7 per cent to $6,272 million from $5,877 million in Q4-2014. Consolidated Operating Income increased 5.7 per cent to $4,002 million as compared to $3,787 million in the previous year. On 13 November, 2015, Comcast acquired a 51 per cent interest in the Universal Studios theme park located in Osaka, Japan (Universal Studios Japan). Q4-2015 and FY-2015 results include $169 million of revenue and $80 million of operating cash flow attributable to Universal Studios Japan from its acquisition date.

    Consolidated revenue for Q4-2015 excluding Universal Studios Japan increased 7.6 per cent. Consolidated operating cash flow excluding Universal Studios Japan, as well as $22 million of costs associated with a change in the presentation of amounts payable for a contractual obligation in Q4-2015 and $99 million of Time Warner Cable and Charter transaction-related costs in Q4-2014, increased four per cent.

    For FY-2015, consolidated revenue increased 8.3 per cent to $74,510 million as compared to $68,775 million in FY-2014. Consolidated operating cash flow increased 7.7 per cent to $24,678 million as compared to $22,923 million in FY-2014. Consolidated operating income increased 7.3 per cent to $15,998 million as compared to $14,904 million in the prior year. Consolidated revenue for FY-2015 excluding Universal Studios Japan, as well as $376 million of revenue generated by the broadcast of the NFL’s Super Bowl in the first quarter of 2015 and $1.1 billion of revenue generated by the Sochi Olympics in the first quarter of 2014, increased 9.3 per cent. Consolidated operating cash flow excluding Universal Studios Japan, as well as $178 million of transaction-related costs in 2015 and $237 million in 2014, and $22 million of costs associated with a change in the presentation of amounts payable for a contractual obligation4 in the fourth quarter of 2015, increased 7.1 per cent.

    Other segments

    NBCUniversal

    Revenue for NBCUniversal increased 13.0 per cent to $7,477 million in Q4-2015 compared to $6,615 million in Q4-2014. For FY-2015, NBCUniversal revenue increased 11.9 per cent to $28.5 billion compared to $25.4 billion in FY-2014.

    Cable Networks

    For Q4-2015, Cable Networks segment revenue increased 3.4 per cent to $2,407 million as compared to $2,327 million in Q4-2014. These results reflect a 6.8 per cent increase in distribution revenue, partially reflecting NASCAR Comcast’s sports network, NBCSN, which was more than offset by a modest 0.3 per cent decline in advertising revenue and an increase in sports programming costs, reflecting the impact of NASCAR and higher programming costs for the English Premier League.

    For FY-2015, revenue from the Cable Networks segment increased 0.7 per cent to $9,628 million from $9,563 million in FY-2014.

    Broadcast Television

    For Q4-2015, revenue from the Broadcast Television segment increased seven per cent to $2,498 million compared to $2,335 million in Q4-2014, reflecting a seven per cent increase in advertising revenue, primarily driven by higher rates, a 34.9 per cent increase in content licensing revenue, and higher retransmission consent fees.

    For FY-2015, revenue from the Broadcast Television segment was stable at $8,530 million as compared to $8,542 million in FY-2014. Excluding $376 million of revenue generated by the NFL’s Super Bowl in the first quarter of 2015, as well as $846 million of revenue generated by the 2014 Sochi Olympics, revenue increased six per cent, reflecting a 13.7 per cent increase in content licensing revenue, a 4.1 per cent increase in advertising revenue, and higher retransmission consent fees.

    Filmed Entertainment

    For Q4-2015, revenue from the Filmed Entertainment segment increased 25.8 per cent to $1,6 29billion compared to $1,295 million in Q4-2014, reflecting a 74.9 per cent increase in home entertainment revenue driven by the strong performances of Minions and Jurassic World, as well as a 22.7 per cent increase in content licensing revenue, partially offset by a 37.5 per cent decline in theatrical revenue.

    For FY-2015, revenue from the Filmed Entertainment segment increased 45.5 per cent to $7,287 million compared to $5,008 million in FY-2014, driven by higher theatrical revenue from the record performances of Minions, Jurassic World, and Furious 7. Operating cash flow increased 73.5 per cent to $1.2 billion compared to $711 million in 2014, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by a 40.9 per cent increase in operating expenses, primarily driven by an increase in the amortisation of film costs and higher advertising, marketing and promotion expense due to a larger film slate.

    Theme Parks

    For Q4-2015, revenue from the Theme Parks segment increased 38.6 per cent to $1,019 million compared to $735 million in Q4-2014. These results reflect higher guest attendance and per capita spending, driven by the continued success of Orlando’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley, Hollywood’s Fast and Furious: Supercharged, as well as Halloween Horror Nights at the Orlando and Hollywood parks, partially offset by an increase in operating costs to support new attractions.

    For FY-2015, revenue from the Theme Parks segment increased 27.3 per cent to $3,339 million compared to $2,623 million in FY-2014.

  • FY-2015: Comcast Cable’s Q4-2015 video subscriber additions retard video subscriber decline

    FY-2015: Comcast Cable’s Q4-2015 video subscriber additions retard video subscriber decline

    BENGALURU: Comcast Corporation’s (Comcast) cable communications segment reported its best ever video results in terms of subscriber decline over nine years for the year ended 31 December, 2015 (FY-2015, current year). Video subscriber increase or retard, at least for the current quarter, seems to be a trend in the US, if one were to go by the results declared by a couple of other television signal carriers.

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million =1 crore

    Comcast Cable numbers

    Comcast Cable reported net additions of 89,000 in the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q4-2015, current quarter) as compared to net additions of 6,000 during the corresponding prior year quarter. In the previous quarter (Q3-2015), Comcast Cable had reported a decline of 48,000 video subscribers. For FY-2015, the segment reported 223.47 lakh video subscribers as compared to 223.83 lakh in FY-2014, a decline of just 36,000 as compared to the 196,000 subscribers that Comcast Cable had lost in FY-2014 vis-?-vis FY-2013.

    Customer relationships increased by 281,000 to 270.35 lakh during Q4-2015, a 57.6 per cent improvement compared to an increase of 178,000 in the fourth quarter of 2014, driven by increases in double product and triple product relationships. Video customer net additions of 89,000 were the best result for a quarter in eight years, high-speed Internet customer net additions of 460,000 were the best result for a fourth quarter in nine years, and Voice customer net additions improved to 139,000.

    For FY-2015, customer relationships increased by 666,000, an 85.9 per cent improvement compared to net additions of 358,000 in FY-2014. Video customer net losses of 36,000 improved by 81.7 per cent year-over-year and were the best result in nine years. High-speed Internet customer net additions of 1.4 million marked the tenth consecutive year of more than one million net additions, and were the best result in eight years. Voice customer net additions slowed to 282,000.

    Revenue for Cable Communications increased 5.9 per cent to $11,980 million in Q4-2015 compared to $11,313 million Q4-2014, driven by increases of 9.8 per cent in high-speed Internet, 4.4 per cent in video and 18.9 per cent in business services, partially offset by a 9.3 per cent decline in advertising due to lower political advertising revenue. Comcast says that the increase in Cable revenue reflects increased customer relationships (see below), customers receiving higher levels of service, customers taking additional services, as well as rate adjustments.

    For FY-2015, Cable revenue increased 6.2 per cent to $46,879 million compared to $44,140 million in FY-2014, driven by growth in high-speed Internet, business services and video.

    Company speak

    Comcast chairman and chief executive officer Brian L. Roberts said, “I am exceptionally proud of our results this year, which were driven by strong performances in each of our core businesses. At Comcast Cable, our focus on delivering the most innovative products and improving the customer experience led to fantastic operating metrics, including our best video customer results in nine years, and our best high-speed Internet customer results in eight years. NBCUniversal had a remarkable year, with record-breaking results at both Theme Parks and Film, and continued success at NBC, which was number one in primetime for the second consecutive season. As we enter 2016, the momentum we see across our portfolio is truly exciting. We are executing at the highest level, investing prudently, and energized and focused on driving growth and shareholder value. Underscoring our confidence in our company, we are increasing our dividend by 10 per cent to $1.10 per share and we also plan to repurchase $5.0 billion of our stock this year.”

    Overall numbers

    Consolidated Revenue for Q4-2015 increased 8.5 per cent to $19,245 million as compared to $17,732 million in Q4-2014. Consolidated Operating Cash Flow increased 6.7 per cent to $6,272 million from $5,877 million in Q4-2014. Consolidated Operating Income increased 5.7 per cent to $4,002 million as compared to $3,787 million in the previous year. On 13 November, 2015, Comcast acquired a 51 per cent interest in the Universal Studios theme park located in Osaka, Japan (Universal Studios Japan). Q4-2015 and FY-2015 results include $169 million of revenue and $80 million of operating cash flow attributable to Universal Studios Japan from its acquisition date.

    Consolidated revenue for Q4-2015 excluding Universal Studios Japan increased 7.6 per cent. Consolidated operating cash flow excluding Universal Studios Japan, as well as $22 million of costs associated with a change in the presentation of amounts payable for a contractual obligation in Q4-2015 and $99 million of Time Warner Cable and Charter transaction-related costs in Q4-2014, increased four per cent.

    For FY-2015, consolidated revenue increased 8.3 per cent to $74,510 million as compared to $68,775 million in FY-2014. Consolidated operating cash flow increased 7.7 per cent to $24,678 million as compared to $22,923 million in FY-2014. Consolidated operating income increased 7.3 per cent to $15,998 million as compared to $14,904 million in the prior year. Consolidated revenue for FY-2015 excluding Universal Studios Japan, as well as $376 million of revenue generated by the broadcast of the NFL’s Super Bowl in the first quarter of 2015 and $1.1 billion of revenue generated by the Sochi Olympics in the first quarter of 2014, increased 9.3 per cent. Consolidated operating cash flow excluding Universal Studios Japan, as well as $178 million of transaction-related costs in 2015 and $237 million in 2014, and $22 million of costs associated with a change in the presentation of amounts payable for a contractual obligation4 in the fourth quarter of 2015, increased 7.1 per cent.

    Other segments

    NBCUniversal

    Revenue for NBCUniversal increased 13.0 per cent to $7,477 million in Q4-2015 compared to $6,615 million in Q4-2014. For FY-2015, NBCUniversal revenue increased 11.9 per cent to $28.5 billion compared to $25.4 billion in FY-2014.

    Cable Networks

    For Q4-2015, Cable Networks segment revenue increased 3.4 per cent to $2,407 million as compared to $2,327 million in Q4-2014. These results reflect a 6.8 per cent increase in distribution revenue, partially reflecting NASCAR Comcast’s sports network, NBCSN, which was more than offset by a modest 0.3 per cent decline in advertising revenue and an increase in sports programming costs, reflecting the impact of NASCAR and higher programming costs for the English Premier League.

    For FY-2015, revenue from the Cable Networks segment increased 0.7 per cent to $9,628 million from $9,563 million in FY-2014.

    Broadcast Television

    For Q4-2015, revenue from the Broadcast Television segment increased seven per cent to $2,498 million compared to $2,335 million in Q4-2014, reflecting a seven per cent increase in advertising revenue, primarily driven by higher rates, a 34.9 per cent increase in content licensing revenue, and higher retransmission consent fees.

    For FY-2015, revenue from the Broadcast Television segment was stable at $8,530 million as compared to $8,542 million in FY-2014. Excluding $376 million of revenue generated by the NFL’s Super Bowl in the first quarter of 2015, as well as $846 million of revenue generated by the 2014 Sochi Olympics, revenue increased six per cent, reflecting a 13.7 per cent increase in content licensing revenue, a 4.1 per cent increase in advertising revenue, and higher retransmission consent fees.

    Filmed Entertainment

    For Q4-2015, revenue from the Filmed Entertainment segment increased 25.8 per cent to $1,6 29billion compared to $1,295 million in Q4-2014, reflecting a 74.9 per cent increase in home entertainment revenue driven by the strong performances of Minions and Jurassic World, as well as a 22.7 per cent increase in content licensing revenue, partially offset by a 37.5 per cent decline in theatrical revenue.

    For FY-2015, revenue from the Filmed Entertainment segment increased 45.5 per cent to $7,287 million compared to $5,008 million in FY-2014, driven by higher theatrical revenue from the record performances of Minions, Jurassic World, and Furious 7. Operating cash flow increased 73.5 per cent to $1.2 billion compared to $711 million in 2014, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by a 40.9 per cent increase in operating expenses, primarily driven by an increase in the amortisation of film costs and higher advertising, marketing and promotion expense due to a larger film slate.

    Theme Parks

    For Q4-2015, revenue from the Theme Parks segment increased 38.6 per cent to $1,019 million compared to $735 million in Q4-2014. These results reflect higher guest attendance and per capita spending, driven by the continued success of Orlando’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley, Hollywood’s Fast and Furious: Supercharged, as well as Halloween Horror Nights at the Orlando and Hollywood parks, partially offset by an increase in operating costs to support new attractions.

    For FY-2015, revenue from the Theme Parks segment increased 27.3 per cent to $3,339 million compared to $2,623 million in FY-2014.

  • NBCU’s Fandango snaps up DreamWorks & Technicolor’s movie streaming service

    NBCU’s Fandango snaps up DreamWorks & Technicolor’s movie streaming service

    MUMBAI: NBCUniversal’s Fandango has acquired the movie streaming service M-Go, which is jointly owned by Technicolor and DreamWorks Animation.

     

    M-GO offers new release and catalog movies from studios and television programming to a wide variety of connected, over-the-top (OTT) and mobile devices including Android, iOS, Samsung, LG, Roku, and others.

     

    The acquisition comes on the heels of Fandango’s record-breaking 2015, when the company experienced 81 per cent growth in ticketing dollars year-over-year and added more than 1,600 new screens, bringing its total US screen count to more than 27,000. 

     

    “With the addition of M-GO, we’ll be able to accelerate the ticketing momentum achieved in a record-breaking 2015 by creating compelling new digital products that serve consumers throughout the movie lifecycle,” said Fandango president Paul Yanover. “We’re excited to start working with our studio and exhibition partners to bundle theatrical tickets and home entertainment products in the form of ‘super tickets,’ gifts with purchase, and other promotional offers.”

     

    By creating theatrical ticketing and home entertainment bundles, Fandango will offer compelling “super ticket” products such as special “movie catch-up” bundles with franchise movie instalments, home entertainment pre-sell opportunities, and bundles with bonus content, collectible memorabilia, fan experiences, and more. 

     

    Furthering its goal to super-serve moviegoers, in 2015 the company increased its investment in ticketing and launched FandangoLabs, a new research and development group that was formed in collaboration with movie and technology industry leaders to innovate and enhance the moviegoing experience. Moving forward, FandangoLabs will utilise the capabilities of the M-GO platform in the creation of new moviegoing products and services.

     

    Along with the acquisition, the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Technicolor will work together to explore opportunities to collaborate on next-generation video technologies, inclusive of augmented and virtual reality, to accelerate innovation in this immersive space.

  • NBCU’s Fandango snaps up DreamWorks & Technicolor’s movie streaming service

    NBCU’s Fandango snaps up DreamWorks & Technicolor’s movie streaming service

    MUMBAI: NBCUniversal’s Fandango has acquired the movie streaming service M-Go, which is jointly owned by Technicolor and DreamWorks Animation.

     

    M-GO offers new release and catalog movies from studios and television programming to a wide variety of connected, over-the-top (OTT) and mobile devices including Android, iOS, Samsung, LG, Roku, and others.

     

    The acquisition comes on the heels of Fandango’s record-breaking 2015, when the company experienced 81 per cent growth in ticketing dollars year-over-year and added more than 1,600 new screens, bringing its total US screen count to more than 27,000. 

     

    “With the addition of M-GO, we’ll be able to accelerate the ticketing momentum achieved in a record-breaking 2015 by creating compelling new digital products that serve consumers throughout the movie lifecycle,” said Fandango president Paul Yanover. “We’re excited to start working with our studio and exhibition partners to bundle theatrical tickets and home entertainment products in the form of ‘super tickets,’ gifts with purchase, and other promotional offers.”

     

    By creating theatrical ticketing and home entertainment bundles, Fandango will offer compelling “super ticket” products such as special “movie catch-up” bundles with franchise movie instalments, home entertainment pre-sell opportunities, and bundles with bonus content, collectible memorabilia, fan experiences, and more. 

     

    Furthering its goal to super-serve moviegoers, in 2015 the company increased its investment in ticketing and launched FandangoLabs, a new research and development group that was formed in collaboration with movie and technology industry leaders to innovate and enhance the moviegoing experience. Moving forward, FandangoLabs will utilise the capabilities of the M-GO platform in the creation of new moviegoing products and services.

     

    Along with the acquisition, the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Technicolor will work together to explore opportunities to collaborate on next-generation video technologies, inclusive of augmented and virtual reality, to accelerate innovation in this immersive space.

  • Q3-2015: Comcast Cable revenue up 6.3%, loses 48K video subs; NBCU shines

    Q3-2015: Comcast Cable revenue up 6.3%, loses 48K video subs; NBCU shines

    BENGALURU: Comcast Corporation’s (Comcast) Cable Communications reported revenue growth of 6.3 per cent at $11,740 million in the quarter ended 30 September, 2015 (Q3-2015, current quarter) as compared to the $11,041 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. The segment’s revenue in the current quarter was almost flat (increased by 0.09 per cent) as compared to $11,729 million reported for the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    Subscription numbers have been mentioned in lakhs and revenue and other financial numbers in millions of US dollars.

     

    Operating cash flow of Comcast’s Cable Communications in Q3-2015 improved 6.4 per cent to $4748 million (40.4 per cent margin) as compared to the $4,464 million (40.4 per cent margin) in Q3-2014.

     

    In terms of decline in video customers, Comcast’s Cable Communication reported the best quarter among the last nine quarters. The company lost only 48,000 video customers in Q3-2015 as compared to the decline of 69,000 in Q2-2015.

     

    Comcast NBCUniversal segment reported a 20.8 per cent growth in revenue at $7,151 million in the current quarter as compared to the $5,921 million in Q3-2014. Operating cash flow of the segment in Q3-2015 improved 17 per cent to $1,657 million as compared to the $1,416 million in Q3-2014.

     

    Overall, Comcast reported a 11.2 per cent growth in consolidated revenue (excluding Olympics and Super Bowl) at $18,669 million as compared to the $16,791 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. Operating Income in Q3-2015 increased 6.9 per cent to $4001 million as compared to the $3745 million in Q3-2014, while Free Cash Flow increased 6.8 per cent to $2663 million as compared to $2494 million in Q3-2014. Earnings per share in the current quarter however declined 19.2 per cent to $0.80 as compared to $0.99 in Q3-2014.

     

    Comcast chairman and CEO Brian L Roberts said, ”I’m pleased to report that our businesses generated outstanding revenue and operating cash flow growth for the third quarter of 2015. At Cable Communications, overall customer relationships increased 156,000, a 90 per cent improvement compared to last year, video subscriber results were the best for a third quarter in nine years, high-speed Internet subscriber results were the best for a third quarter in six years, and churn across all product categories continues to improve. NBCUniversal also delivered terrific results, including another record-breaking box office quarter driven by Minions and Jurassic World, the highest summer attendance ever at our theme parks, and maintaining the #1 broadcast network ranking for five summers in a row. These outstanding results from our unique portfolio of complementary businesses underscore our confidence that we are well positioned to compete, continue our strong performance and drive shareholder value.”

     

    Cable Communications numbers

     

    Six sub-segments contribute to Comcast’s Cable Communications – Video; High Speed Internet; Voice; Business Services; Advertising; and ‘Other.’

     

    Growth in revenue was driven by increases of 10.2 per cent in high-speed Internet revenue, 19.5 per cent in business services and 3.3 per cent in video. The company says that the increase in Cable revenue reflects increased customer relationships, customers receiving higher levels of service and customers taking additional services, as well as rate adjustments.

     

    Customer relationships

     

    Overall, Cable Communications customer relationships in Q3-2015 increased to 274.21 lakh as compared to 268.57 lakh in Q3-2014. During Q3-2015, the segment saw net addition of 156,000 customer relationships as compared to the net addition of 82,000 in the corresponding year ago quarter.

     

    Single, double and triple play customers

     

    While the number of single product customers in the current quarter was lower at 83.67 lakh, it grew by 24,000, as compared to the 84.44 lakh in Q3-2014, which saw a decline of 66,000. Double Product customers were higher at 90.66 lakh in Q3-2015 as compared to 86.50 lakh in Q3-2014. In Q3-2015, the number of double product customers increased by 130,000 as compared to the increase of 76,000 in Q3-2014. Triple Product customers in Q3-2015 increased to 99.88 lakh as compared to 97.63 lakh in the corresponding year ago quarter. Q3-2015 saw the number of triple product customers’ increase by a mere 1,000 as compared to the increase of 72,000 n Q3-2014.

     

    Video

    Revenue from Video improved 3.3 per cent to $5,348 million in Q3-2015 as compared to the $5,179 million in Q3-2014. For the current quarter, the company reported a net loss of 48,000 customers, while its customer base declined by 118,000 to 222.58 lakhs as compared to the 223.76 lakh customers in Q3-2014.

     

    High Speed Internet

    High Speed Internet revenue in the current quarter increased 10.2 per cent to $3,129 million as compared to the $2,840 million in Q3-2014.

     

    The company added 320,000 high speed internet customers in Q3-2015 and reported a customer base of 228.68 lakh. In Q3-2014, Cable Communications had added 315,000 customers and reported a high spend internet customer base of 215.86 lakh.

     

    Voice

    Despite a higher customer base, Voice revenue in Q3-2015 declined 1.4 per cent to $900 million as compared to the $913 million in the corresponding year ago quarter.

     

    Voice customer base in Q3-2015 increased to 113.36 lakh as compared to the 110.70 lakh in the corresponding quarter of last year. In Q3-2015, Cable Communications added only 17,000 customers as compared to the 68,000 in Q3-2014.

     

    Business Services revenue in Q3-2015 increased 19.2 per cent to $1,208 million as compared to the $1,011 million in Q3-2014.

     

    Advertising revenue in the current quarter was almost flat (declined 0.2 per cent) to $593 million as compared to $596 million in the corresponding year ago quarter.

     

    ‘Other’ revenue increased 11.2 per cent to $562 million in Q3-2015 as compared to the $ 502 in Q3-2014.

     

    NBCUniversal

     

    As mentioned above, NBCUniversal division revenue increased 20.8 per cent YoY in the current quarter, while Operating Cash Flow increased 17 per cent driven by strong results at Filmed Entertainment and Theme Parks.

     

    Four sub-segments add to NBCUniversal’s revenue – Cable Networks; Broadcast Television; Filmed Entertainment; and Theme Parks.

     

    Cable Networks reported seven per cent growth in operating revenue at $2,412 million in Q3-2015 as compared to the $2,255 million in the corresponding year ago quarter, driven by an 8.6 per cent increase in distribution revenue and a two per cent increase in advertising revenue, partially reflecting the introduction of NASCAR on Comcast’s sports network, NBCSN, as well as a 17.6 per cent increase in content licensing and other revenue. Operating cash flow decreased 3.9 per cent to $835 million compared to $868 million in Q3-2014, reflecting higher revenue, more than offset by increased sports programming costs, driven by the impact of NASCAR., informs the company.

     

    Broadcast Television revenue in the current quarter increased 11.3 per cent in Q3-2015 at $1,971 million as compared to the $1,770 million in Q3-2014 reflecting a 33.5 per cent increase in content licensing revenue, higher retransmission consent fees, and a 2.8 per cent increase in advertising revenue. Operating cash flow increased 6.1 per cent to $150 million compared to $142 million in Q3-2014, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by an increase in programming and production costs associated with the timing of content provided under NBCUniversal’s licensing agreements and studio production costs.

     

    Filmed Entertainment revenue increased 64 per cent to $1,946 million in Q3-2015  as compared to the $1,186 million in the corresponding year ago quarter driven by higher theatrical revenue from the record performances of Minions andJurassic World, continuing on the earlier success of Furious 7. Operating cash flow increased $225 million to $376 million compared to $151 million in Q3- 2014, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by an increase in the amortisation of film costs and higher advertising, marketing and promotion expense due to a larger film slate.

     

    Theme Parks revenue increased 14.1 per cent to $876 million as compared to the $786 million in the corresponding year ago quarter reflecting higher guest attendance and per capita spending, driven by the continued success of Orlando’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley, as well as Fast and Furious: Supercharged at the Hollywood park. Q3-2015 operating cash flow increased 14.1 per cent to $458 million compared to $402 million in the same period last year, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by an increase in operating costs to support new attractions and $18 million of transaction-related costs associated with the development of a theme park in China.