Communications giant Comcast (CMCSA) has a bit of a problem as growth goes right now. Its streaming platform, Peacock, is not really catching on the way others like HBO Max or Disney+ are. And Comcast president Mike Cavanaugh thinks he might have just the answer in a process he calls “eventizing.” Investors were skeptical at the appearance of this new word not found in any known dictionary, and sent shares down fractionally in the closing minutes of Tuesday’s trading.
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While Peacock’s growth has not exactly been a ravening success story, it has delivered some quality results. Cavanaugh, in fact, noted he was “…proud of the momentum” the platform has shown so far. He elaborated, “It’s been a strong revenue growth with significant (profit and loss) improvement.” And with 41 million subscribers on hand so far—though not many more than it had last quarter—the platform is delivering solid results.
But how does one fire those results up into further growth? Cavanaugh thinks he has the answer: “eventizing” sports and Universal movies. Sports will be huge for Peacock, especially now that it has the NBA on its side. Cavanaugh notes that Peacock will have “…a portfolio of sports rights second only to ESPN (DIS), and clearly the largest of any general entertainment streamer. That’s a significant element of the path forward for Peacock as cord-cutting continues.”
Spreading Out
In aid of this, Comcast is also flexing its muscles in content provision as well. A couple weeks back, it set up a new agreement with Amazon (AMZN) to bring new entertainment options to Prime Video, as well as to Peacock, among others. Prime Video customers will now be able to get in on Peacock Premium Plus for $16.99 per month, or $169.99 for the year.
Plus, Comcast and Amazon renewed several earlier distribution deals that let Peacock get on Fire TV and let Universal movies become available for rent on Prime Video. The combination allows both to “…deliver significant value across our businesses and expand…exposure of our world-class content,” noted, once again, Mike Cavanaugh.
Is Comcast Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CMCSA stock based on seven Buys, eight Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 13.13% loss in its share price over the past year, the average CMCSA price target of $39.43 per share implies 17% upside potential.
