NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock has hit 24 million subscribers, according to the organization’s latest earnings call.
According to a write up from Deadline, revenue rose 85% at Peacock to $820 million but the losses have widened from $467 million just last year to $651 million in 2023. (Executives have alleged that 2023 will be the “peak year of losses,” according to the report.)
Hitting 24 million subscribers at Peacock is a milestone for the streamer, with the overall subscription number up 2 million in the last quarter.
Comcast, the company that owns NBCUniversal, calls its largest business “Connectivity & Platforms,” according to Deadline, which includes their broadband, wireless, and cable TV offerings. According to the earnings call, revenue was “flat” with the prior year period and in line with others in the industry, Comcast continued to lose broadband customers, logging a net lost of 19,000 customers and a net loss of 543,000 video subscriptions.
Leadership changes
As Deadline indicates, these numbers are the first to be released since NBCUniversal made sweeping changes across its leadership team in TV and entertainment.
Donna Langley (who was Chariman, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group) was promoted to oversee the organization’s entertainment divisions which include both film and TV, encompassing both Bravo and streaming service Peacock, while Susan Rovner, who had been the Chairman, Entertainment Content for the company’s Television and Streaming division, is leaving as part of the shuffle.
According to the report, Mark Lazarus (Charmain, Television and Streaming) and Frances Berwick (Chairman, NBCUniversal Entertainment), one of Andy Cohen’s infamous bosses, have also been promoted as part of the change-up. Lazarus will now oversee the TV and streaming platforms, as well as distribution and monetization, and will continue to run the television networks (hi, Bravo!), Direct to Consumer business (Peacock), as well as the NBC Sports Group and the NBC affiliates.
Frances Berwick was promoted to Chairman, NBCUniversal Entertainment and now reports in to Lazarus as one of her leaders and will reportedly add original content across NBCU’s broadcast, cable and Peacock options to her current responsibilities of running the linear networks.
Mike Cavanagh, who took over the reigns of Comcast in 2022, is the one making the changes.
