We saw just days ago how entertainment giant Comcast (CMCSA) brought in a new leader to drive its advertising sales operations worldwide. More recently, it released a new report on the state of the advertising industry, and how artificial intelligence (AI) is having an impact on the field. This proved a little less than helpful for Comcast as a whole, and Comcast shares slipped fractionally in Friday morning’s trading.
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The annual Comcast Advertising Report came out earlier today, and with it, brought insight into the field of advertising and marketing as revealed by one of the biggest providers of linear television and internet service around. One of the biggest points had to do with AI use, as 77% of brand and agency operations said that AI was “transforming the industry.” Further, 60% of respondents believe AI makes advertising more efficient, and 37% believe it is now easier to buy advertising with AI.
Despite this, most believe that the biggest impacts to the field are as yet unseen. In fact, 61% of respondents in the study found they had not seen any “meaningful results” from AI at all. Despite this, 82% reported using AI tools to determine market segments and consider audience behavior. Another 80%, meanwhile, used AI to engage in “automated data collection and integration.”
The New Pokemon Master
Meanwhile, Comcast’s Universal arm just landed a major deal with The Pokemon Company to bring a “world-class” experience to Universal Studios Japan. The theme park has long had some connection to Pokemon—parades and stage shows have long been part of the mix there—but now, the park will get an “immersive and world-class experience.”
Other parks will get in on this action later, reports note. With Pokemon celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, it is little surprise that the franchise is looking to do something special. It should also prove a major draw for Universal parks, taking advantage of a franchise with a lot of longevity on its side.
Is Comcast Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on CMCSA stock based on seven Buys, 12 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 22.3% loss in its share price over the past year, the average CMCSA price target of $33.18 per share implies 13.61% upside potential.
