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Tag: Michael Cavanagh

  • NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming carrier is rising, because of reside sports activities

    Kansas Town Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce (87) runs the ball in for a landing towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers all through the primary quarter at Raymond James Stadium, Oct. 2, 2022.

    Kim Klement | USA Lately Sports activities | Reuters

    NBCUniversal’s sports activities portfolio has been riding enlargement at its streaming carrier Peacock, and the corporate has no plans to let up, with different sports activities rights offers most sensible of thoughts.

    Sports activities are a double-edged sword for media corporations contending with relentless wire slicing and seeking to make their streaming services and products winning.

    Are living sports activities content material has lengthy been the glue retaining in combination the normal cable TV package, which is shedding consumers at a sooner clip whilst costing media organizations extra. On the identical time, sports activities are serving as a propeller of enlargement for streaming, particularly for fledgling services and products corresponding to Peacock and Paramount International’s Paramount+.

    NBCUniversal’s father or mother corporate, Comcast, on Thursday touted that Peacock just about doubled its buyer rely yr over yr to 24 million. Sports activities had been a large a part of the dialog.

    “Sports activities remains to be an enormous driving force, with the NFL, Nascar, golfing, Premier League, the Global Cup on Telemundo — together with the Girls’s Global Cup occurring at the moment — Giant Ten beginning this autumn, and the Paris Olympics arising subsequent yr,” President Mike Cavanagh mentioned on an investor name after Comcast’s second-quarter income document.

    NBCUniversal airs maximum of its sports activities homes, together with Sunday Night time Soccer and Premier League football, concurrently on its TV networks and Peacock, a identical fashion to Paramount’s NFL playbook.

    In step with Cavanagh, simultaneous streaming has given the corporate and its sports activities property “super succeed in,” and all at a lower price to the shopper.

    Peacock is priced at $4.99 a month for its ad-supported tier — although it is reportedly expanding $1 a month — a large value distinction from the price of conventional cable TV bundles.

    Build up sports activities

    NBCUniversal is thinking about bringing the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation again to its portfolio, too.

    Whilst Cavanagh mentioned NBC did not “essentially want it given the portfolio we’ve got,” the corporate would nonetheless check out the approaching media rights.

    The NBA may not start formal negotiations with corporations outdoor the present rights holders, Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney, sooner than April 2024, until the ones companions waive their unique negotiation rights.

    CNBC previous this yr reported NBC Sports activities used to be bearing in mind a bid for NBA rights.

    In the meantime, Disney executives have mentioned it is a topic of “when, now not if” ESPN’s reside channels can be introduced a los angeles carte via streaming services and products.

    Previous this month, Disney CEO Bob Iger opened the door to promoting its cable TV channels, however mentioned ESPN used to be nonetheless a part of the Disney playbook going ahead. As an alternative, Disney is having discussions with attainable companions or minority buyers for ESPN.

    Skilled leagues, together with the NBA, NFL and MLB, were a part of the ones discussions, CNBC in the past reported.

    ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro at CNBC x Boardroom’s inaugural match previous this week debunked any perception that ESPN channels on streaming would upend the normal TV fashion.

    “The [traditional TV] fashion has been superb to Disney,” Pitaro mentioned, noting ESPN would nonetheless live to tell the tale conventional TV and that the community used to be operating with pay TV vendors.

    An ESPN deal can be much less most likely for NBC Sports activities, Cavanagh mentioned Thursday.

    Any kind of switch or tie up of the companies, as Cavanagh mentioned has been speculated about NBC Sports activities and ESPN, can be “very fantastic,” given “super problems round tax minority shareholder structuring.”

    Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the father or mother corporate of NBC and CNBC.

  • NBCUniversal faces a suite of company-defining choices as CEO Jeff Shell departs

    (L-R) Michael Cavanagh, then-chief monetary officer of Comcast, talks with Brian Roberts, leader govt officer of Comcast, as they come for the yearly Allen & Corporate Solar Valley Convention, July 9, 2019 in Solar Valley, Idaho.

    Drew Angerer | Getty Pictures

    Because the surprise wears off at the unexpected departure of NBCUniversal Leader Govt Officer Jeff Shell, executives at NBCUniversal’s guardian corporation, Comcast, will want to make choices on a handful of primary pieces that may decide the corporate’s long term within the subsequent 12 to 24 months.

    Shell introduced he was once departing the corporate straight away Sunday after admitting to an beside the point courting with an NBCUniversal worker. Mike Cavanagh, Comcast’s president, will run the NBCUniversal department, despite the fact that it is unclear for the way lengthy. Whilst Cavanagh has been at Comcast since 2015, serving as the corporate’s leader monetary officer sooner than his promotion to president in October, his background is not operating huge media companies. Cavanagh was once a banker for greater than two decades sooner than becoming a member of Comcast.

    Shell’s departure comes at a in particular the most important time for the way forward for the inside track and leisure corporation. Whilst Shell was once by no means without equal decision-maker at Comcast — that activity falls to CEO Brian Roberts, whose circle of relatives controls the corporate — his enter and imaginative and prescient helped dictate the corporate’s pathway thru streaming, sports activities rights and acquisitions.

    NBCUniversal is observing giant choices in all 3 of the ones classes within the coming months.

    The Hulu resolution

    In 2019, NBCUniversal agreed to an extraordinary maintain Disney, permitting it to promote its 33% stake in Hulu in January 2024 at a valuation of no less than $27.5 billion. However feedback from Disney CEO Bob Iger previous this yr have put Disney’s motivation to shop for the rest of Hulu unsure.

    “The whole lot is at the desk,” Iger informed CNBC’s David Faber in February, suggesting Disney may purchase the rest of Hulu or promote its 66% stake — conceivably to Comcast.

    Shell was once a large fan of Hulu and concept it would supercharge NBCUniversal’s streaming efforts, in keeping with other folks aware of his considering. Hulu ended 2022 with 48 million subscribers, greater than doubling the choice of shoppers paying for NBCUniversal’s flagship streaming provider, Peacock, which crowned 20 million in January. Each streaming products and services are U.S.-based. Uniting Hulu’s possession may permit a media corporation to increase the logo globally, including tens of hundreds of thousands extra subscribers.

    Obtaining Hulu’s 66% stake from Disney may price Comcast greater than $20 billion. Roberts will proceed to be without equal decider on this sort of transfer. Dropping NBCUniversal’s most sensible operator can provide Roberts some pause on a deal. Or, in all probability, it would spur Roberts to seek out new management thru a big acquisition.

    NBA rights

    NBC Sports activities is excited by bringing the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation again to NBC, its broadcast TV house from 1990-2002, CNBC reported in February.

    It is unclear if NBC will if truth be told get a shot at purchasing the rights, as Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have unique negotiating rights with the NBA till early subsequent yr. But when the NBA makes a decision it desires NBC as a spouse, the media corporation should pay billions in step with yr for the privilege. The NBA is on the lookout for a considerable build up in present rights bills, which can be $1.4 billion every year for Disney and $1.2 billion for Warner Bros. Discovery.

    NBCUniversal additionally owns a number of regional sports activities networks, whose personal long-term industry is in query because the NBA and Primary League Baseball reconsider tips on how to broadcast native video games amid the chapter of Sinclair’s Diamond Sports activities Staff.

    Mark Lazarus was once promoted to go of NBCUniversal Tv and Streaming in Would possibly 2020. He has overseen NBC Sports activities Staff for greater than a decade. Roberts and Cavanagh can proceed to depend on Lazarus and head of NBC Sports activities Pete Bevacqua for long term media rights strikes.

    Merging with Warner Bros. Discovery

    The elephant within the room with NBCUniversal is the widespread hypothesis in media circles {that a} merger with Warner Bros. Discovery may well be coming within the subsequent two years. Warner Bros. Discovery should wait two years sooner than finishing a sale for tax functions following AT&T’s divestiture of WarnerMedia into Discovery Communications.

    If a Comcast-Warner Bros. Discovery deal had been to occur, Shell won’t have had a job on the long term corporation. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav may run the mixed media belongings.

    Warner Bros. Discovery board member John Malone informed CNBC in 2021 “there is no query” Roberts sought after to shop for WarnerMedia however did not as a result of regulatory pushback.

    “My remark to Brian was once that that is the pickle out of the jar,” Malone stated in 2021. “If the regulatory setting accredited, down the street, a wide variety of relationships may well be pondered between this undertaking that we are growing and Brian’s undertaking. I feel there are lots of alternatives for this Discovery-[WarnerMedia] undertaking to paintings with NBCUniversal to expand a success companies.”

    It is imaginable a Republican presidential management may well be extra welcoming to the theory of a merger. Marketplace dynamics have additionally shifted since 2021, probably serving to to persuade Roberts and Zaslav to aim a merger. Each Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery are smaller firms after dropping really extensive worth in 2022.

    Given Cavanagh’s background in finance, somewhat than operations, Roberts would possibly sign his plan to merge NBCUniversal if he helps to keep Cavanagh within the position somewhat than discovering an outdoor substitute. It is going to make little sense for Roberts to select a brand new chief for NBCUniversal if that particular person will merely steer the corporate right into a merger.

    Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the guardian corporation of CNBC.

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