TV News: Peacock bleeding red ink

2nd Quarter Results: NBCU Earnings Rise, But Peacock Loss Hits $467M and Paid Subs Stall at 13M

Peacock, the streaming service of Comcast’s entertainment unit NBCUniversal, grew its revenue during the second quarter, but its paid subscriber base stalled, and its loss widened, while NBCU overall increased its earnings.

After ending the first quarter with more than 13 million paid subs and 28 million monthly active accounts in the U.S., the company said on Thursday that paid subs “stayed relatively flat at 13 million” as of the end of June “following a very strong first quarter that was driven by a variety of extraordinary programming,” including the Super Bowl and the Beijing Winter Olympics, leading to a gain of 4 million paid subs.

Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said on an earnings conference call he was “pleased” with Peacock’s stable user base and touted a “very strong fall” that would see renewed growth momentum.

If Peacock continues to lose money, it’s possible it could go the way of NBCSN and be axed.