Peacock, the ad-supported streaming service launched by NBCUniversal in April, has attracted some 10 million subscriptions to date, Comcast reported Thursday.
While the company did not expand on that number or offer additional statistics, it said view time and engagement levels are ahead of internal projections.
NBCU chief Jeff Shell put the numbers in more context when asked during a conference call with Wall Street analysts to define “subscriptions,” rather than active accounts or active users. On its investor day last January, NBCU projected to have around 30 million to 35 million monthly active accounts by 2024.
“It is confusing because it is different in the advertising world than it is in the SVOD world,” Shell admitted. Given that Peacock had its national expansion on July 15 after an initial run on Comcast platforms, “it is too early to convert” the registration number into monthly active accounts, he said, “but overall we are better than expected” . We did not expect so many records. We did not expect people to come back as often as they came back and we did not expect people to see as long as they are watching when they return. “
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CFO Michael Cavanagh added: “We are encouraged by the number of people we have to test or test Peacock.” CEO Brian Roberts, putting together other topics from the quarter, said Peacock, Xfinity Flex, premium video-on-demand movie offerings and other companies show how Comcast “leans toward streaming.”
An illustration of the new orientation is found in the corporate structure of the NBCU television group. Under Mark Lazarus, who took on a new role on television and broadcast in May, the organization will get a new structure that will soon reflect a focus on the broadcast, Shell said, though it did not reveal any details.
Lazarus is “finalizing a new structure,” said Shell, which will shift resources toward broadcasting and away from traditional television operations. Addressing the broader operating environment, Shell said crises like COVID-19 “tend to accelerate and exacerbate trends, and that’s true in the television business.”
It’s almost impossible to get apple-to-apple comparisons between Peacock and other new entrants. When Disney launched Disney + last November, it attracted 10 million subscriptions in 24 hours. In early May, it had 54.5 million global subscribers. But its offering is leaner than Peacock’s and has no advertising.
Meanwhile, HBO Max reported 4.1 million new subscribers since its launch on May 27, in addition to current HBO subscribers who accessed the service, and WarnerMedia did not disclose a total account of active users. The veteran Netflix leader leads the field with 193 million global subscribers.
Ahead of the call, Comcast reported quarterly financial results that exceeded analyst expectations, but NBCU was hit by a 27% drop in advertising revenue.
In a note to clients after the earnings call, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett said the numbers “don’t change the narrative.” The analyst maintains a “buy” rating on Comcast’s shares, but mainly because of its robust broadband and pay TV businesses. “NBCU is doing very badly,” Moffett wrote, “even if the losses were not as dramatic as some might have feared. NBCU will continue to perform poorly until after there is a vaccine … and the business of cable networks, in particular, may not improve much even when there is. “
