Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA and NASDAQ: CMCSK), commonly referred to as Comcast, is the largest cable operator, home internet service provider, and third largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers[3][4][5] in 39 states and the District of Columbia.[6] The company is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Comcast also has significant holding in several cable networks (including E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, G4, The Golf Channel and Versus), distribution (ThePlatform), and related businesses. Comcast acquired a majority stake in media conglomerate NBC Universal in January 2011.
Comcast Corporation (Comcast), incorporated in December 2001, is a provider of video, high-speed Internet and phone services (cable services) to residential and business customers in the United States. As of December 31, 2010, the Company’s cable systems served approximately 22.8 million video customers, 17 million high-speed Internet customers and 8.6 million phone customers, and passed over 51 million homes and businesses in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Comcast operates in two segments: Cable and Programming. The Company operates in two segments: Cable and Programming. The Cable segment manages and operates cable systems in the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2010, its Cable segment generated approximately 94% of its consolidated revenue. As of December 31, 2010, its Cable segment also included the operations of its regional sports and news networks. As of December 31, 2010, its Programming segment consisted of its consolidated national cable programming networks, E, Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4 and Style. As of December 31, 2010, its corporate and other activities included Comcast Interactive Media, Comcast Spectacor and all other consolidated businesses not included in its Cable or Programming segments. On January 28, 2011, Comcast closed its transaction with General Electric Company (GE), in which it acquired control of the businesses of NBCUniversal Media, LLC (NBCUniversal), formerly NBC Universal, Inc., a media and entertainment company.
Cable Segment
Comcast offers a variety of services over its cable systems, including video, high-speed Internet and phone services. It markets its cable services individually and in packages to both residential and business customers. Its video service offerings range from a limited analog service to a full digital service, as well as advanced services, which consist of high-definition television (HDTV) and/or digital video recorders (DVR). Its analog video services offer a limited basic service with access to between 20 and 40 channels of video programming. The Company’s digital video services range from a digital economy service with access to approximately 50 channels of video programming to a full digital service with access to over 300 channels. Its video services include programming provided by national and local broadcast networks and by national and regional cable networks, as well as governmental and public access programming. The Company’s digital video services include access to over 40 music channels, its On Demand service and an interactive, on-screen program guide. It also offers packages that include amounts of foreign-language programming, and it offers other specialty tiers of programming with sports, family or international themes.
The Company’s On Demand service provides its digital video customers the opportunity to choose from a selection of up to 25,000 standard-definition and high-definition (HD) programming choices in select markets over the course of a month; start the programs, and pause, rewind and fast-forward the programs. A substantial portion of its On Demand content is available to its digital video customers at no additional charge. The Company’s HDTV service provides high-resolution picture quality, audio quality and a wide-screen format for customers who use HD-capable television (TV) sets. Its HDTV service includes a selection of HD programming choices, including broadcast networks, national cable networks, premium channels and regional sports networks. In addition, its On Demand service provides HD video customers the opportunity to choose from a selection of up to 6,000 HDTV programming choices in select markets over the course of a month.
The Company’s DVR service lets digital video customers select, record and store programs and play them at whatever time. Its DVR service also provides the ability to pause and rewind live television. During 2010, it began to offer select programming in three-dimensional (3D) format on the channels it distributed, as well as On Demand, which allowed customers with 3D capable TV sets and viewing glasses to view 3D programming. During 2010, the Company also expanded its service capabilities so its video customers could view content and program listings, and schedule and manage DVR recordings online or with alternative devices, such as the iPad.
Comcast offers high-speed Internet services with Internet access at downstream speeds of up to 105 megabits per second (Mbps). These services also include its Internet portal, Comcast.net, which provides multiple e-mail addresses and online storage, as well as a variety of content and value-added features and enhancements that are designed to take advantage of the speed of the Internet services it provides. The Company’s high-speed Internet service for business customers also includes a Website hosting service and an online tool that allows customers to share, coordinate and store documents. The Company offers an interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service that provides either usage-based or unlimited local and domestic long-distance calling and includes features, such as voice mail, caller identification (ID) and call waiting. Its phone service for business customers also includes a business directory listing and the option to add multiple phone lines.
As part of its programming license agreements with programming networks, Comcast receives an allocation of scheduled advertising time that it may sell to local, regional and national advertisers. It also coordinates the advertising sales efforts of other cable operators in some markets, and in some markets it operates advertising interconnects. The Company’s regional sports networks include Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia), Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington), Cable Sports Southeast, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, MountainWest Sports Network, Comcast SportsNet California (Sacramento), Comcast SportsNet New England (Boston), Comcast SportsNet Northwest (Portland), Comcast Sports Southwest (Houston), Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (San Francisco), New England Cable News (Boston), Comcast Network Philadelphia and Comcast Network Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington). These networks generate revenue from monthly per subscriber license fees paid by multichannel video providers and through the sale of advertising.
Programming Segment
On January 28, 2011, the businesses in the Company’s Programming segment were contributed to NBCUniversal at the close of the NBCUniversal transaction. As of December 31, 2010, Comcast’ national programming networks, including E had approximately 98 million United States subscribers, Golf Channel had approximately 83 million United States subscribers, VERSUS had approximately 75 million United States subscribers, G4 had approximately 59 million United States subscribers and Style had approximately 66 million United States subscribers. Revenue from its programming networks is primarily generated from monthly per subscriber license fees paid by multichannel video providers that have entered into multi-year contracts to distribute its programming networks, the sale of advertising and the licensing of its programming internationally.
Other Businesses
The Company’s other business interests include Comcast Interactive Media and Comcast Spectacor. Comcast Interactive Media develops and operates its Internet businesses focused on entertainment, information and communication, including Comcast.net, Xfinity TV, Plaxo, DailyCandy and Fandango. On January 28, 2011, DailyCandy and Fandango were contributed to NBCUniversal at the close of the NBCUniversal transaction. Comcast Spectacor owns two professional sports teams, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Philadelphia Flyers, and a large, multipurpose arena in Philadelphia, the Wells Fargo Center, and provides facilities management and food services for sporting events, concerts and other events.
Comcast also owns non-controlling interests in certain networks and content providers, including iN DEMAND (54%), Music Choice (12%) and Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (30%). It also owns non-controlling interests in FEARnet (31%), PBS KIDS Sprout (40%), TV One (34%), Houston Regional Sports Network, L.P. (23%), and SportsNet New York (8%), which were all contributed to NBCUniversal at the close of the NBCUniversal transaction on January 28, 2011. In addition, the Company has non-controlling interests in wireless-related companies, including Clearwire Communications LLC (9%) and SpectrumCo, LLC (64%).
The Company competes with DIRECTV, DISH Network, AT&T and Verizon.
Also in 1988, Comcast turned an important strategic corner regarding telephone companies when it purchased American Cellular Network, or Amcell, a cellular telephone business serving New Jersey. For the first time, cable and telephone companies, prevented from competition in landline services, were facing each other in the cellular telephone business. And for the first time, a cable company was able to offer telephone customers an alternative to the telephone company.
In 1990, a year after relocating the corporate offices from Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia, Ralph Roberts shocked the company and the industry by naming his 30-year-old son Brian to succeed him as president of the company, while Ralph Roberts remained as chairman. Brian Roberts, who had impeccable academic credentials, silenced critics by proving to be a highly effective manager. In addition, having begun work in the company at the age of seven, he had 23 years seniority, more than virtually anyone but his father.
Also in 1990, after having purchased an interest in an additional franchise serving suburban London, the company's newly formed international unit won more British franchises, allowing the company to serve Cambridge and Birmingham. Comcast now counted more than one million customers in Britain alone. Increasingly, however, Comcast's smaller companies, such as Amcell, were beginning to experience slower growth. Rather than allow Amcell to be swallowed up later by a larger suitor, Comcast struck a deal in 1991 with the Metromedia Company, in which it purchased that company's Metrophone cellular unit for $1.1 billion. The new joint company, established in 1992, quadrupled Comcast's potential market to more than 7.3 million customers.
Later that year, the company's offices at One Meridian Plaza in Philadelphia were destroyed by a fire that took 19 hours to put out. Only eight days later, the company set up shop four blocks away at 1234 Market Street. While officially a temporary location, the company's 250 employees were once again in business.
In September 1992, Comcast staged a five-way international telephone call using the Comcast network and a long-distance carrier. The purpose was to demonstrate that the company could handle telephone calls and completely bypass the local telephone network. While the demonstration was intended to raise investor interest in such bypass operations, it also succeeded in scaring telephone companies sufficiently to argue for permission to offer cable television services. The company continued to bolster its position in the bypass business in 1992, when it gained a 20 percent interest (later reduced to 15 percent) in Teleport Communications Corporation, operator of a fiber-optic-based bypass telecommunications network which by the mid-1990s was serving more than 50 major markets nationwide.
Late in 1992, Comcast took over 50 percent of Storer Communications, dividing the assets of that company with Denver-based Tele-Communications, another leading cable firm. Storer was forced into dissolution by heavy debt carried at high interest. The proceeds from the sale enabled Storer's parent company, SCI Holdings, to retire much of that debt.
Aggressive Moves into Content Highlighted Mid-1990s
The mid-1990s saw a frenzy of activity throughout the cable and telecommunications industries, as deregulation increasingly brought cable and telephone companies into competition with each other, as well as into partnerships. The period also saw a flurry of acquisitions, mergers, and system swaps in the cable industry as companies sought to build networks of contiguous systems to improve efficiencies. Comcast was at the center of all of this activity, and also made aggressive moves into the area of programming content.
As early as 1992, Comcast had begun testing a forerunner of what eventually became known as the Sprint PCS (personal communications services) digital cellular technology, which delivered crisper sound and more security than analog cellular phone technology. In 1994 Comcast entered into an alliance that formed the Sprint Telecommunications Venture, renamed Sprint Spectrum LP in 1995. The alliance partners were Sprint Corp., owning 40 percent of the venture; Tele-Communications Inc., 30 percent; and Comcast and Cox Communications Inc., 15 percent each. In the early 1995 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction of PCS licenses, Sprint Spectrum was the biggest winner, gaining the rights to wireless licenses in 31 major U.S. markets, covering a population of 156 million. The venture was soon renamed Sprint PCS and the four partners spent millions of dollars building a wireless network. In 1997 Comcast's cellular operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware were converted to the digital technology, but by then the company considered Sprint PCS--which faced tough competition from cellular veterans such as AT&T Corp.--a drag on earnings. In May 1998 the Sprint PCS partners announced that they planned to sell 10 percent of the venture to the public through a public offering, with Sprint PCS set up as a tracking stock under Sprint's corporate domain (shareholders of tracking stocks have very limited voting rights). This move was considered the first step toward the possible exit of Comcast, Cox, and TCI from the joint venture. Meanwhile, in January 1998, Comcast acquired GlobalCom Telecommunications, a regional long-distance service provider. Along with the company's other operations, the addition of GlobalCom--renamed Comcast Telecommunications&mdash-abled Comcast to offer a full range of telecommunications services.
In cable, Comcast in 1994 acquired Maclean Hunter's U.S. cable operations for $1.27 billion, gaining an additional 550,000 customers. In November 1996 Comcast acquired the cable properties of E. W. Scripps Co in a $1.575 billion stock swap. Scripps's 800,000 customers brought Comcast's cable holdings to more than 4.3 million customers in 21 states, the fourth largest cable system in the United States. In February 1998 the company agreed to sell its underperforming U.K. cable operations to NTL Inc. for $600 million in stock plus the assumption of $397 million in debt. Three months later, Comcast announced that it would spend $500 million over the next several years to take over the 30 percent interest in Jones Intercable Inc. held by the Canada-based BCI Telecom Holding Inc. Jones had a technologically advanced, one-million-customer cable system, much of which was in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., strategically contiguous to some of Comcast's main markets.
Comcast's aggressive moves to become a major provider of entertainment content were perhaps the company's most dramatic actions of this period. Already holding a 13 percent stake in QVC, Inc., the number one cable-based shopping channel, Comcast in July 1994 scuttled at the last minute a planned merger between QVC and CBS Inc. by offering to pay $2.2 billion for a controlling interest in QVC. CBS, refusing to engage in a bidding war, immediately retreated, leaving Comcast to increase its QVC interest to 57 percent. In early 1996 Comcast paid $250 million to acquire a 66 percent stake in a new venture, Comcast-Spectacor, L.P. Most of the remaining ownership interest was held by Spectacor, which owned the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team and two sports arenas in Philadelphia. Comcast-Spectacor was set up to own and operate the Flyers, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team, and the two arenas. Comcast then leveraged these ownership interests into establishing Comcast SportsNet, a 24-hour regional cable sports channel, which debuted in the fall of 1997 and featured telecasts of Flyers, 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies (major league baseball) games, in addition to other sports programming. In March 1997 Comcast partnered with the Walt Disney Company to acquire a majority interest in E! Entertainment Television, a 24-hour cable network devoted exclusively to entertainment and celebrity programming. E! was available in more than 45 million homes in more than 120 countries around the world.
In June 1997 Microsoft Corp. announced that it would invest $1 billion in Comcast in return for an 11.5 percent nonvoting interest. Microsoft wanted a cable partner for testing interactive television and high-speed computer services, and chose Comcast because its cable system was one of the most technologically advanced in the country. By the end of 1997, Comcast had converted about 70 percent of its customers to a new hybrid fiber-coaxial technology, which was more reliable, offered improved signal quality, and had the capacity to deliver more services. The company was also a partner--with a 12 percent interest--in At Home Corporation. Comcast@Home was launched in December 1996, offering high-speed interactive services, including 24-hour unlimited Internet access, through a cable modem to customers in Baltimore County, Maryland, and Sarasota, Florida. Additional markets were soon added.
In 1987 Comcast Corporation was almost exclusively a cable television company. Just ten years later, cable was no longer even the company's largest unit. Out of 1997 revenues of $4.91 billion, $2.083 billion (or 42.4 percent) came from the company's content operations, $2.073 billion (42.2 percent) came from cable, and $444.9 million (9.1 percent) came from cellular. Clearly, Comcast was not a firm that rested on its laurels. And with the partnership with Microsoft promising involvement in additional innovative technologies and services, Comcast seemed certain to be a central player in the high-tech world of the 21st century.
Principal Subsidiaries: Comcast Cable Communications, Inc.; Garden State Cablevision L.P. (50%); Primestar Partners, L.P. (10%); Comcast Cellular Communications, Inc.; QVC, Inc. (57.45%); Comcast Spectacor, L.P. (66%); E! Entertainment Television, Inc. (79.2%); At Home Corporation (12%); Sprint Spectrum Holdings Company, L.P. (15%).
OVERALL
Beta: 1.03
Market Cap (Mil.): $72,411.42
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 2,757.37
Annual Dividend: 0.45
Yield (%): 1.69
FINANCIALS
CMCSA.O Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): 20.67 195.41 13.51
EPS (TTM): 2.15 -- --
ROI: 3.41 3.73 1.28
ROE: 8.35 6.10 2.13
Comcast Corporation is a leading cable, telecommunications, and entertainment firm. The company's earliest roots are in cable television, and Comcast Cable is now the fourth largest cable company in the United States, with 4.4 million customers in 21 states. Comcast Cellular serves 783,000 cellular telephone customers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Comcast also is a partner with Sprint Corp., Tele-Communications Inc., and Cox Communications Inc. in the Sprint PCS digital wireless telephone joint venture. In content, which provides the most revenue of the company's three sectors, Comcast holds a 57 percent stake in QVC, Inc., the leading cable television shopping channel; has a controlling interest with the Walt Disney Company in E! Entertainment Television, a cable channel devoted to entertainment and celebrity programming; and holds a majority interest in the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team, the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia Phantoms minor league hockey team, two indoor sports arenas, and Comcast-Sports Net, a 24-hour regional sports network serving the Philadelphia area. The company also holds stakes in a number of other content providers. Controlled by the Roberts family of Philadelphia, Comcast also has the powerful backing of Microsoft Corp., which owns 11.5 percent of the company.
Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1969
Employees: 17,600
Sales: $4.91 billion (1997)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
Ticker Symbol: CMCSK
SICs: 4812 Radio Telephone Communications; 4813 Telephone Communications, Except Radio Telephone; 4841 Cable & Other Pay Television Services; 4899 Communication Services, Not Elsewhere Classified; 6512 Operators of Nonresidential Buildings; 7941 Professional Sports Clubs & Promoters; 7999 Amusement & Recreation Services, Not Elsewhere Classified
Name Age Since Current Position
Roberts, Brian 51 2004 Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer
Roberts, Ralph 91 2008 Chairman Emeritus, Independent Director
Brodsky, Julian 77 2004 Non-Executive Vice Chairman of the Board
Angelakis, Michael 46 2007 Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President
Cohen, David 55 2002 Executive Vice President
Burke, Stephen 53 2011 Executive Vice President; President and Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal Holdings and NBCUniversal
Smit, Neil 52 2011 Executive Vice President, President - Comcast Cable
Salva, Lawrence 54 2004 Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer, Controller
Block, Arthur 56 2002 Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary
Bonovitz, Sheldon 73 1979 Director
Sovern, Michael 79 2002 Director
Anstrom, S. Decker 60 2001 Independent Director
Bacon, Kenneth 56 2002 Independent Director
Cook, J. Michael 68 2002 Independent Director
Rodin, Judith 66 2002 Independent Director
Collins, Joseph 66 2004 Independent Director
Breen, Edward 55 2008 Independent Presiding Director
Honickman, Jeffery 54 2005 Independent Director
Hassell, Gerald 59 2008 Independent Director
Address:
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102
U.S.A.
Comcast Corporation (Comcast), incorporated in December 2001, is a provider of video, high-speed Internet and phone services (cable services) to residential and business customers in the United States. As of December 31, 2010, the Company’s cable systems served approximately 22.8 million video customers, 17 million high-speed Internet customers and 8.6 million phone customers, and passed over 51 million homes and businesses in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Comcast operates in two segments: Cable and Programming. The Company operates in two segments: Cable and Programming. The Cable segment manages and operates cable systems in the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2010, its Cable segment generated approximately 94% of its consolidated revenue. As of December 31, 2010, its Cable segment also included the operations of its regional sports and news networks. As of December 31, 2010, its Programming segment consisted of its consolidated national cable programming networks, E, Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4 and Style. As of December 31, 2010, its corporate and other activities included Comcast Interactive Media, Comcast Spectacor and all other consolidated businesses not included in its Cable or Programming segments. On January 28, 2011, Comcast closed its transaction with General Electric Company (GE), in which it acquired control of the businesses of NBCUniversal Media, LLC (NBCUniversal), formerly NBC Universal, Inc., a media and entertainment company.
Cable Segment
Comcast offers a variety of services over its cable systems, including video, high-speed Internet and phone services. It markets its cable services individually and in packages to both residential and business customers. Its video service offerings range from a limited analog service to a full digital service, as well as advanced services, which consist of high-definition television (HDTV) and/or digital video recorders (DVR). Its analog video services offer a limited basic service with access to between 20 and 40 channels of video programming. The Company’s digital video services range from a digital economy service with access to approximately 50 channels of video programming to a full digital service with access to over 300 channels. Its video services include programming provided by national and local broadcast networks and by national and regional cable networks, as well as governmental and public access programming. The Company’s digital video services include access to over 40 music channels, its On Demand service and an interactive, on-screen program guide. It also offers packages that include amounts of foreign-language programming, and it offers other specialty tiers of programming with sports, family or international themes.
The Company’s On Demand service provides its digital video customers the opportunity to choose from a selection of up to 25,000 standard-definition and high-definition (HD) programming choices in select markets over the course of a month; start the programs, and pause, rewind and fast-forward the programs. A substantial portion of its On Demand content is available to its digital video customers at no additional charge. The Company’s HDTV service provides high-resolution picture quality, audio quality and a wide-screen format for customers who use HD-capable television (TV) sets. Its HDTV service includes a selection of HD programming choices, including broadcast networks, national cable networks, premium channels and regional sports networks. In addition, its On Demand service provides HD video customers the opportunity to choose from a selection of up to 6,000 HDTV programming choices in select markets over the course of a month.
The Company’s DVR service lets digital video customers select, record and store programs and play them at whatever time. Its DVR service also provides the ability to pause and rewind live television. During 2010, it began to offer select programming in three-dimensional (3D) format on the channels it distributed, as well as On Demand, which allowed customers with 3D capable TV sets and viewing glasses to view 3D programming. During 2010, the Company also expanded its service capabilities so its video customers could view content and program listings, and schedule and manage DVR recordings online or with alternative devices, such as the iPad.
Comcast offers high-speed Internet services with Internet access at downstream speeds of up to 105 megabits per second (Mbps). These services also include its Internet portal, Comcast.net, which provides multiple e-mail addresses and online storage, as well as a variety of content and value-added features and enhancements that are designed to take advantage of the speed of the Internet services it provides. The Company’s high-speed Internet service for business customers also includes a Website hosting service and an online tool that allows customers to share, coordinate and store documents. The Company offers an interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service that provides either usage-based or unlimited local and domestic long-distance calling and includes features, such as voice mail, caller identification (ID) and call waiting. Its phone service for business customers also includes a business directory listing and the option to add multiple phone lines.
As part of its programming license agreements with programming networks, Comcast receives an allocation of scheduled advertising time that it may sell to local, regional and national advertisers. It also coordinates the advertising sales efforts of other cable operators in some markets, and in some markets it operates advertising interconnects. The Company’s regional sports networks include Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia), Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington), Cable Sports Southeast, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, MountainWest Sports Network, Comcast SportsNet California (Sacramento), Comcast SportsNet New England (Boston), Comcast SportsNet Northwest (Portland), Comcast Sports Southwest (Houston), Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (San Francisco), New England Cable News (Boston), Comcast Network Philadelphia and Comcast Network Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington). These networks generate revenue from monthly per subscriber license fees paid by multichannel video providers and through the sale of advertising.
Programming Segment
On January 28, 2011, the businesses in the Company’s Programming segment were contributed to NBCUniversal at the close of the NBCUniversal transaction. As of December 31, 2010, Comcast’ national programming networks, including E had approximately 98 million United States subscribers, Golf Channel had approximately 83 million United States subscribers, VERSUS had approximately 75 million United States subscribers, G4 had approximately 59 million United States subscribers and Style had approximately 66 million United States subscribers. Revenue from its programming networks is primarily generated from monthly per subscriber license fees paid by multichannel video providers that have entered into multi-year contracts to distribute its programming networks, the sale of advertising and the licensing of its programming internationally.
Other Businesses
The Company’s other business interests include Comcast Interactive Media and Comcast Spectacor. Comcast Interactive Media develops and operates its Internet businesses focused on entertainment, information and communication, including Comcast.net, Xfinity TV, Plaxo, DailyCandy and Fandango. On January 28, 2011, DailyCandy and Fandango were contributed to NBCUniversal at the close of the NBCUniversal transaction. Comcast Spectacor owns two professional sports teams, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Philadelphia Flyers, and a large, multipurpose arena in Philadelphia, the Wells Fargo Center, and provides facilities management and food services for sporting events, concerts and other events.
Comcast also owns non-controlling interests in certain networks and content providers, including iN DEMAND (54%), Music Choice (12%) and Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (30%). It also owns non-controlling interests in FEARnet (31%), PBS KIDS Sprout (40%), TV One (34%), Houston Regional Sports Network, L.P. (23%), and SportsNet New York (8%), which were all contributed to NBCUniversal at the close of the NBCUniversal transaction on January 28, 2011. In addition, the Company has non-controlling interests in wireless-related companies, including Clearwire Communications LLC (9%) and SpectrumCo, LLC (64%).
The Company competes with DIRECTV, DISH Network, AT&T and Verizon.
Also in 1988, Comcast turned an important strategic corner regarding telephone companies when it purchased American Cellular Network, or Amcell, a cellular telephone business serving New Jersey. For the first time, cable and telephone companies, prevented from competition in landline services, were facing each other in the cellular telephone business. And for the first time, a cable company was able to offer telephone customers an alternative to the telephone company.
In 1990, a year after relocating the corporate offices from Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia, Ralph Roberts shocked the company and the industry by naming his 30-year-old son Brian to succeed him as president of the company, while Ralph Roberts remained as chairman. Brian Roberts, who had impeccable academic credentials, silenced critics by proving to be a highly effective manager. In addition, having begun work in the company at the age of seven, he had 23 years seniority, more than virtually anyone but his father.
Also in 1990, after having purchased an interest in an additional franchise serving suburban London, the company's newly formed international unit won more British franchises, allowing the company to serve Cambridge and Birmingham. Comcast now counted more than one million customers in Britain alone. Increasingly, however, Comcast's smaller companies, such as Amcell, were beginning to experience slower growth. Rather than allow Amcell to be swallowed up later by a larger suitor, Comcast struck a deal in 1991 with the Metromedia Company, in which it purchased that company's Metrophone cellular unit for $1.1 billion. The new joint company, established in 1992, quadrupled Comcast's potential market to more than 7.3 million customers.
Later that year, the company's offices at One Meridian Plaza in Philadelphia were destroyed by a fire that took 19 hours to put out. Only eight days later, the company set up shop four blocks away at 1234 Market Street. While officially a temporary location, the company's 250 employees were once again in business.
In September 1992, Comcast staged a five-way international telephone call using the Comcast network and a long-distance carrier. The purpose was to demonstrate that the company could handle telephone calls and completely bypass the local telephone network. While the demonstration was intended to raise investor interest in such bypass operations, it also succeeded in scaring telephone companies sufficiently to argue for permission to offer cable television services. The company continued to bolster its position in the bypass business in 1992, when it gained a 20 percent interest (later reduced to 15 percent) in Teleport Communications Corporation, operator of a fiber-optic-based bypass telecommunications network which by the mid-1990s was serving more than 50 major markets nationwide.
Late in 1992, Comcast took over 50 percent of Storer Communications, dividing the assets of that company with Denver-based Tele-Communications, another leading cable firm. Storer was forced into dissolution by heavy debt carried at high interest. The proceeds from the sale enabled Storer's parent company, SCI Holdings, to retire much of that debt.
Aggressive Moves into Content Highlighted Mid-1990s
The mid-1990s saw a frenzy of activity throughout the cable and telecommunications industries, as deregulation increasingly brought cable and telephone companies into competition with each other, as well as into partnerships. The period also saw a flurry of acquisitions, mergers, and system swaps in the cable industry as companies sought to build networks of contiguous systems to improve efficiencies. Comcast was at the center of all of this activity, and also made aggressive moves into the area of programming content.
As early as 1992, Comcast had begun testing a forerunner of what eventually became known as the Sprint PCS (personal communications services) digital cellular technology, which delivered crisper sound and more security than analog cellular phone technology. In 1994 Comcast entered into an alliance that formed the Sprint Telecommunications Venture, renamed Sprint Spectrum LP in 1995. The alliance partners were Sprint Corp., owning 40 percent of the venture; Tele-Communications Inc., 30 percent; and Comcast and Cox Communications Inc., 15 percent each. In the early 1995 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction of PCS licenses, Sprint Spectrum was the biggest winner, gaining the rights to wireless licenses in 31 major U.S. markets, covering a population of 156 million. The venture was soon renamed Sprint PCS and the four partners spent millions of dollars building a wireless network. In 1997 Comcast's cellular operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware were converted to the digital technology, but by then the company considered Sprint PCS--which faced tough competition from cellular veterans such as AT&T Corp.--a drag on earnings. In May 1998 the Sprint PCS partners announced that they planned to sell 10 percent of the venture to the public through a public offering, with Sprint PCS set up as a tracking stock under Sprint's corporate domain (shareholders of tracking stocks have very limited voting rights). This move was considered the first step toward the possible exit of Comcast, Cox, and TCI from the joint venture. Meanwhile, in January 1998, Comcast acquired GlobalCom Telecommunications, a regional long-distance service provider. Along with the company's other operations, the addition of GlobalCom--renamed Comcast Telecommunications&mdash-abled Comcast to offer a full range of telecommunications services.
In cable, Comcast in 1994 acquired Maclean Hunter's U.S. cable operations for $1.27 billion, gaining an additional 550,000 customers. In November 1996 Comcast acquired the cable properties of E. W. Scripps Co in a $1.575 billion stock swap. Scripps's 800,000 customers brought Comcast's cable holdings to more than 4.3 million customers in 21 states, the fourth largest cable system in the United States. In February 1998 the company agreed to sell its underperforming U.K. cable operations to NTL Inc. for $600 million in stock plus the assumption of $397 million in debt. Three months later, Comcast announced that it would spend $500 million over the next several years to take over the 30 percent interest in Jones Intercable Inc. held by the Canada-based BCI Telecom Holding Inc. Jones had a technologically advanced, one-million-customer cable system, much of which was in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., strategically contiguous to some of Comcast's main markets.
Comcast's aggressive moves to become a major provider of entertainment content were perhaps the company's most dramatic actions of this period. Already holding a 13 percent stake in QVC, Inc., the number one cable-based shopping channel, Comcast in July 1994 scuttled at the last minute a planned merger between QVC and CBS Inc. by offering to pay $2.2 billion for a controlling interest in QVC. CBS, refusing to engage in a bidding war, immediately retreated, leaving Comcast to increase its QVC interest to 57 percent. In early 1996 Comcast paid $250 million to acquire a 66 percent stake in a new venture, Comcast-Spectacor, L.P. Most of the remaining ownership interest was held by Spectacor, which owned the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team and two sports arenas in Philadelphia. Comcast-Spectacor was set up to own and operate the Flyers, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team, and the two arenas. Comcast then leveraged these ownership interests into establishing Comcast SportsNet, a 24-hour regional cable sports channel, which debuted in the fall of 1997 and featured telecasts of Flyers, 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies (major league baseball) games, in addition to other sports programming. In March 1997 Comcast partnered with the Walt Disney Company to acquire a majority interest in E! Entertainment Television, a 24-hour cable network devoted exclusively to entertainment and celebrity programming. E! was available in more than 45 million homes in more than 120 countries around the world.
In June 1997 Microsoft Corp. announced that it would invest $1 billion in Comcast in return for an 11.5 percent nonvoting interest. Microsoft wanted a cable partner for testing interactive television and high-speed computer services, and chose Comcast because its cable system was one of the most technologically advanced in the country. By the end of 1997, Comcast had converted about 70 percent of its customers to a new hybrid fiber-coaxial technology, which was more reliable, offered improved signal quality, and had the capacity to deliver more services. The company was also a partner--with a 12 percent interest--in At Home Corporation. Comcast@Home was launched in December 1996, offering high-speed interactive services, including 24-hour unlimited Internet access, through a cable modem to customers in Baltimore County, Maryland, and Sarasota, Florida. Additional markets were soon added.
In 1987 Comcast Corporation was almost exclusively a cable television company. Just ten years later, cable was no longer even the company's largest unit. Out of 1997 revenues of $4.91 billion, $2.083 billion (or 42.4 percent) came from the company's content operations, $2.073 billion (42.2 percent) came from cable, and $444.9 million (9.1 percent) came from cellular. Clearly, Comcast was not a firm that rested on its laurels. And with the partnership with Microsoft promising involvement in additional innovative technologies and services, Comcast seemed certain to be a central player in the high-tech world of the 21st century.
Principal Subsidiaries: Comcast Cable Communications, Inc.; Garden State Cablevision L.P. (50%); Primestar Partners, L.P. (10%); Comcast Cellular Communications, Inc.; QVC, Inc. (57.45%); Comcast Spectacor, L.P. (66%); E! Entertainment Television, Inc. (79.2%); At Home Corporation (12%); Sprint Spectrum Holdings Company, L.P. (15%).
OVERALL
Beta: 1.03
Market Cap (Mil.): $72,411.42
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 2,757.37
Annual Dividend: 0.45
Yield (%): 1.69
FINANCIALS
CMCSA.O Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): 20.67 195.41 13.51
EPS (TTM): 2.15 -- --
ROI: 3.41 3.73 1.28
ROE: 8.35 6.10 2.13
Comcast Corporation is a leading cable, telecommunications, and entertainment firm. The company's earliest roots are in cable television, and Comcast Cable is now the fourth largest cable company in the United States, with 4.4 million customers in 21 states. Comcast Cellular serves 783,000 cellular telephone customers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Comcast also is a partner with Sprint Corp., Tele-Communications Inc., and Cox Communications Inc. in the Sprint PCS digital wireless telephone joint venture. In content, which provides the most revenue of the company's three sectors, Comcast holds a 57 percent stake in QVC, Inc., the leading cable television shopping channel; has a controlling interest with the Walt Disney Company in E! Entertainment Television, a cable channel devoted to entertainment and celebrity programming; and holds a majority interest in the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team, the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia Phantoms minor league hockey team, two indoor sports arenas, and Comcast-Sports Net, a 24-hour regional sports network serving the Philadelphia area. The company also holds stakes in a number of other content providers. Controlled by the Roberts family of Philadelphia, Comcast also has the powerful backing of Microsoft Corp., which owns 11.5 percent of the company.
Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1969
Employees: 17,600
Sales: $4.91 billion (1997)
Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ
Ticker Symbol: CMCSK
SICs: 4812 Radio Telephone Communications; 4813 Telephone Communications, Except Radio Telephone; 4841 Cable & Other Pay Television Services; 4899 Communication Services, Not Elsewhere Classified; 6512 Operators of Nonresidential Buildings; 7941 Professional Sports Clubs & Promoters; 7999 Amusement & Recreation Services, Not Elsewhere Classified
Name Age Since Current Position
Roberts, Brian 51 2004 Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer
Roberts, Ralph 91 2008 Chairman Emeritus, Independent Director
Brodsky, Julian 77 2004 Non-Executive Vice Chairman of the Board
Angelakis, Michael 46 2007 Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President
Cohen, David 55 2002 Executive Vice President
Burke, Stephen 53 2011 Executive Vice President; President and Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal Holdings and NBCUniversal
Smit, Neil 52 2011 Executive Vice President, President - Comcast Cable
Salva, Lawrence 54 2004 Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer, Controller
Block, Arthur 56 2002 Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary
Bonovitz, Sheldon 73 1979 Director
Sovern, Michael 79 2002 Director
Anstrom, S. Decker 60 2001 Independent Director
Bacon, Kenneth 56 2002 Independent Director
Cook, J. Michael 68 2002 Independent Director
Rodin, Judith 66 2002 Independent Director
Collins, Joseph 66 2004 Independent Director
Breen, Edward 55 2008 Independent Presiding Director
Honickman, Jeffery 54 2005 Independent Director
Hassell, Gerald 59 2008 Independent Director
Address:
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102
U.S.A.