Sunday Night Baseball on NBC? Comcast Stock (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Slips as it Chases ESPN’s Leftovers

We all know that sports is a big part of entertainment packages these days, especially in the streaming market. And communications giant Comcast (CMCSA) is proving no exception here as it works to get hands on some of the content that Disney’s (DIS) ESPN is stepping away from, noted a report from the Wall Street Journal. The move could have some unexpected results, including the possibility of Sunday night baseball on NBC. Investors were less than enthusiastic, though, as shares dipped fractionally in Thursday afternoon’s trading.

Reports note that not only is Comcast, via its NBCUniversal operations, taking an interest in the regular-season and postseason games that ESPN recently passed on, it is also looking to make a deal, offering significantly less than ESPN was paying. Comcast is looking for a deal here as it does not want international rights, radio rights, or highlight clip rights. With this in mind, Comcast is offering substantially less than ESPN did.

This is a blow to Major League Baseball (MLB), though, as ESPN has handled these games—including the annual Home Run Derby—since 1990. MLB and NBC have, reportedly, been in talks for “…several weeks prior….” Interestingly, the recently spun-off Versant is also looking at a baseball package, though it is not part of the talks that are currently running between MLB and NBC. The notion that Versant may be competing against NBCUniversal, though, is unsettling to say the least.

Don’t Poke the Trump

Meanwhile, Comcast is facing some new concerns out of Washington, as President Trump declares that Comcast “Ought to be Investigated” following a press conference that did not turn out well, for Comcast. The conference featured President Trump calling out South African president Cyril Ramaphosa over matters of white farmers in the country. During the conference, NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander decided to take a different tack, and attempt to call Trump out over the matter of the Qatari jet being gifted to the United States.

Visibly offended by the largely unrelated nature of the query, Trump then turned on Alexander, declaring “you ought to get out of here,” and that he was “…a terrible reporter.” Trump then expanded his distaste for Alexander to his employers, noting, “You ought to go back to your studio at NBC, because Brian Roberts and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated. They are so terrible the way you run that network.” Given how similar matters went, this is not a thing that Comcast likely wants to be a part of. Just ask Disney. Or Paramount. (PARA).

Is Comcast Stock a Good Buy Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CMCSA stock based on nine Buys, nine Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 9.26% loss in its share price over the past year, the average CMCSA price target of $40.62 per share implies 16.49% upside potential.

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