'Minions,' 'Jurassic World' boost Comcast earnings

NBCUniversal's revenue surged 20 percent on the box-office take of billion-dollar blockbusters Minions and Jurassic World, boosting third-quarter earnings for its parent company, Comcast Corp.

The cable/entertainment/Internet giant said its third-quarter revenue jumped to $18.7 billion from $16.8 billion a year ago. Net income, minus onetime gains or charges, climbed to $2 billion from $1.9 billion. Adjusted per share earnings were 80 cents, compared with 73 cents a share a year ago.

"We see two parts of the company working together, driving these results," Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts. NBC had a "terrific run," he said.

Roberts tamped down expectations of a major announcement involving its wireless plans, or an acquisition target after abandoning its controversial deal for Time Warner Cable in April, telling analysts, "We don't have any new news today."

Comcast's third-quarter cable-division revenue rose 6.3 percent, with the business shedding 48,000 TV subscribers compared with a loss of 81,000 in the year-ago period. The Xfinity TV business had its best third quarter in nine years, installing 40,000 new X1 set-top boxes a day.

Comcast has acknowledged deep dissatisfaction among subscribers with its customer service for Xfinity TV, and this year announced sweeping plans to revamp its approach by hiring 5,000 additional customer-service representatives and technicians - a project that seemed to be paying some dividends in reduced customer churn, cable-division head Neil Smit said.

In his research note, Craig Moffett, senior analyst with the research firm MoffettNathanson L.L.C., said of the TV metrics: "Cord cutting? Who said anything about cord cutting?"

Comcast's Xfinity high-speed Internet business added 320,000 new subscribers, indicating that even after almost a decade of adding a million Internet subscribers a year, there is more growth in the market. Broadband revenue rose 10.2 percent, to $3.1 billion.

Because Comcast advertises its bundles of services by emphasizing a double-play of Internet and TV, the number of phone customers was basically flat, with the company adding 17,000 new voice subscribers.

"Solid financial and operating results at the company have become a consistent trend, reinforcing our view of a company which is laser-focused, executing superbly, and clearly the best-in-class operator across all of its businesses," Jessica Reif Cohen, analyst with Bank of America, said in a note to investors after Comcast released its third-quarter earnings.

The undisputed third-quarter business leader at Comcast was NBCUniversal, which Comcast acquired in 2011 from General Electric as a distressed property with flagging entertainment and media businesses.

NBCUniversal's movie-studio revenue soared 64 percent, and theme-park revenue climbed 14 percent with new attractions and hotels. Comcast recently bought a 51 percent ownership stake in the Universal theme park in Japan and has said it will build a big theme park in China.

This year, Comcast's Universal Studios has released three billion-dollar blockbusters - Minions, Jurassic World and Furious 7 - a first for a Hollywood studio. But film studios can be fickle revenue-enhancers: Universal's new biopic, Steve Jobs, had a disappointing opening over the weekend.

NBC's broadcast-TV business has led the ratings with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, NFL football on Sunday nights, and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.

A continuing concern has been NBCUniversal's cable networks, which like others have seen audience and ratings declines. Ironically, Comcast was most attracted to NBCUniversal in 2009 and 2010 for its cable networks, which include USA and Bravo.

But audience fragmentation, Netflix, and an investment in new TV shows has eroded the viewership for NBCUniversal.

Revenue rose 7 percent at the NBCUniversal cable networks, but profits fell 4 percent in the third quarter.

Comcast shares closed down Tuesday at $61.54, losing 64 cents, or 1.03 percent.

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