Bad news for communications giant Comcast (CMCSA) customers recently emerged. Thankfully, the news is not all bad, and will actually only be bad for some customers. In fact, it might be that the news is actually a net positive, when considered in terms of overall reach. If this is starting to sound a little cryptic, think of it this way: Peacock customers are about to be unhappy, but Comcast internet subscribers will be the opposite. Shareholders, however, are also pretty happy, as shares were up modestly in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Basically, Peacock is about to see its single biggest price hike ever, reports note, going up by $3 per month. This will take prices of the ad-supported plan up to $10.99 a month, and the ad-free plan will jump to $16.99 per month. The price hike hits soon, too, starting up this Wednesday, July 23. The biggest reason seems to be the rising cost of sports rights, a vital part of many streaming operations’ strategy.
There is a bit of hope for household budgets that depend heavily on Peacock, though. A new plan, called Peacock Select, will be coming out on a test basis later on. The scaled-down version offers next-day access to NBC and Bravo series, as well as “…a broad assortment of library titles.” But the sports are out, as are Peacock originals like Twisted Metal, and streaming movie premieres are also out. The only real advantage here is the cost savings, which will likely be a slap in the face to some subscribers.
A Boost for the Internet Subscribers
This news is certainly not welcome to most subscribers, but Comcast Xfinity subscribers will likely be much happier. Recently, they heard about Xfinity’s new plan to simplify its plans, and its further plans to drop all data caps. The bane of most internet users’ existence, data caps once set limits on just how much data users could access without either having their account throttled down to near-uselessness or incurring further charges.
Now, Xfinity comes in four flavors, based on speed—your choice of 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps and 2 Gbps—and prices that are either guaranteed or not depending on the rate that is paid. Previous plans will also be grandfathered in, reports note. Comcast also recently rolled out its new “ultra-low lag” technology that helps improve use on things like video conferencing tools.
Is Comcast Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CMCSA stock based on eight Buys, eight Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 12.62% loss in its share price over the past year, the average CMCSA price target of $39.97 per share implies 14.22% upside potential.
