WEBVTT
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And Comcast reported second quarter profit
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at 65 cents a share, two cents above estimate.
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Revenue also beat consensus,
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the stock is higher in pre-market trading,
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joining us now is Brian Roberts,
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Comcast's Chairman and CEO.
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Mr. Roberts, Brian, it's good to see you,
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thank you for joining us.
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Great quarter, we're happy to be here.
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Yeah, anyone that follows media,
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when Comcast reports, it runs the entire gambit,
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to talk about.
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So, there's Consolidated, there's Cable, there's NBC,
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so we wanna talk about all those.
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But I guess initially, you just wanna talk about,
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it's the first quarter that NBC's been a wholly owned unit.
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Just tell us what you think the highlights are
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of this quarter?
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Well, I think that's a great place to start
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because we made a big big decision for the company,
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really at the end of the first quarter to buy
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the other 49%, and I think our timing,
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at least for this first 90 days, looks great.
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The market conditions have, were perfect back then,
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they've changed a little bit.
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Media valuations have moved a bit,
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but mostly we had 21% growth in cash flow
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at NBCUniversal, 9% revenue growth,
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really, all the businesses grew revenue,
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and that's a real highlight for me.
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And so our decision to invest another 18 billion dollars
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in content, we feel great about that,
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and we're off to a 21% increase in one quarter.
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That may not be completely sustainable at that level,
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but all the businesses are, for the first half of the year,
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had a strong year.
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I'm really pleased with Steve Burke and NBCUniversal team
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and the advertising upfront,
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and all the things that I'm sure we'll talk about.
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Yeah, we do wanna do that.
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And you've made a few decisions about NBC.
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There was the initial decision
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and then when to buy in the rest.
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I don't know if you've thought about this,
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you probably have, but, and it was a different environment
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when you decided to buy NBC,
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and obviously the macro environment has improved
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and you've got Steve Burke who you've known
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as a great operator, obviously of NBC,
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so things have improved there, but,
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how much more do you think NBCU is worth now
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than what you paid for it?
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I'll leave that to the analysts.
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We figure we spent all-in around 28 billion dollars,
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when you take the first.
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10%, 20?
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I'm gonna defer, you do see interesting things,
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such as theme parks, take a part of the company
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we don't talk a whole lot about,
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really solid first half of the year,
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continues to do really well.
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We have exciting attractions in the future.
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You see other companies going public in that space,
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there's been a resurgence of interest
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and so I think the diversified nature
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of the content portfolio does have lot of value.
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And more importantly, from where I'm judging,
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a lot of business opportunities ahead.
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We don't feel we're at maximum performance.
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I think we're operating better and well,
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the team has gelled, as you said.
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Steve's doing a great job,
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and it's fitting well with our cable company.
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And our cable company had a really strong quarter,
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and we can talk about that as well.
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Francy said that she thinks 20%.
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I did not.
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I think 25%, more, at least, maybe 30.
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That was the next place I was gonna go actually, Brian,
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and that is, I have heard, anecdotally,
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that cable, and not just at Comcast,
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that cable is just doing so well.
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Can you explain, is it the macro environment?
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Is it that that really is going to be
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what ends up winning out over a lot
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of other delivery systems?
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Why is cable going so well?
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Are small and medium sized businesses deciding
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that that's the way to go?
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What's improving there?
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Well, I really can speak about Comcast.
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We had a good, a really good second quarter.
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We had about 6% revenue growth,
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6% cash flow growth, right around there.
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But we had the best quarter in high speed internet sales,
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120% better than the second quarter last year,
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for instance, that we've had in the last five years.
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And in video, we continue to have losses,
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and that's not our goal, but they were less losses
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than the year before, and phone is also doing well.
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The Triple Play Bundle continues to be the best value
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and attractive product in the market.
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And then in our case, we're really trying to digitize
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those products so you can take them everywhere.
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We're trying to wrap that under the Xfinity brand.
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We have a business service unit that's the fastest growing
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in terms of percentage, at 28, 27% growth for the quarter.
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And all of those things help offset the programming costs
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which have been increasing.
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And so it's a recurring business,
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if you invest in those business,
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as we have with our high speed, broadband platform,
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and we've increased speeds for the entire customer base
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in the last year or so.
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And the product just keeps getting better and better
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and more important.
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And on the video side we keep adding features
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like high-def, on-demand, and now TV Everywhere,
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I think it's the best, most compelling product
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and we've just gotta keep making it better every year
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and that's what we're working on,
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and of course it all comes down to service.
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And can you show up on time.
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Can you give customers more of an expectation
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they can do it themselves.
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Self-installation has never been higher.
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We have more online customer care than we've ever had.
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And I think just the experience gets better,
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quarter after quarter.
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We're about execution, I think Neil Smit
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has proved to be a world-class operator
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in making us a better company.
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Hey Brian, earlier this week we had a strategist
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who was on, and he was talking about how far a lot
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of the cable companies and the media companies,
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those stocks had run.
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He said he thinks the next driver for those stocks
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is going to be household formation.
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And I'm just wondering what you're seeing on that front,
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if you agree with that, and what kind of numbers
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you've been seeing when it comes to household formation?
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You know, it's not been a driver the way it was for years
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and really decades, and so it's a little better,
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but not meaningfully so, such that it would,
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having tailwinds, and so I would be hopeful
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that as the economy continues to improve
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that we will get some more housing formation.
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That would be a great thing for our business,
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gives us a chance to sell all three of those products.
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We have to compete more than ever before.
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But it's always nice to have a bigger pie to chase
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and so, I agree it could be an upside,
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but we have not yet really seen much in that way.
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You know, pockets, but not a meaningful driver.
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Brian, there's been stuff written lately
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about when content goes up against distribution
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like we're seeing now with CBS and Showtime etc.
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Content's been winning, that sooner or later
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the distributor has to pay up because they gotta carry it.
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If Steve comes to you and really tries to gouge you
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with some of the content,
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are you just gonna pay up, because you need it
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on the cable systems, have you thought about that scenario?
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Well look, we've said for a long time
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that it makes a lot of necessity and sense
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for the consumer, that both sides find a medium balance.
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It doesn't mean one side's business may not improve
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a little more than the other side,
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but if somebody wins and somebody loses,
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you end up in a untenable longterm model.
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This business model has been innovative,
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it's created wealth for both content companies
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and distribution companies.
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And frankly, we made a big part of our logic
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for why we wanted our shareholders to have something unique,
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which is a foot in both camps.
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And we're actually trying to work with Steve
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and Neil Smit, putting the two together to innovate.
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How can we make some new steps forward for consumers,
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whether that's going to be in 4K television,
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ultra-high-def someday, or whether that's in letting shows
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come to on-demand and other devices sooner,
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and in more ways.
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And at the same time, yeah, there's higher content costs,
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or inuring to the benefit of NBCUniversal,
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but they have higher rising costs,
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whether it's the sports platform that they're buying
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for NBC Sports or other content costs,
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so it's part of the eco-system, it's very much top of mind.
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I do hope in the end, all sides find a way to work together.
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That's a good problem to have, obviously,
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to have both sides of that.
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And I saw CBS and Moonves talking about,
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you know they had a lot of success with Under the Dome,
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and now they can go to Netflix and Amazon
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and I guess get some more revenue doing it that way.
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I mean, you could do that and not go outside the company,
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couldn't you, I mean you could go to Xfinity or something.
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That's another advantage
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of having the different distribution channels, right?
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It's the kind of area we're definitely
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making investments in.
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We have something called Streampix at the cable Company.
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We have a minority, non-voting interest in Hulu.
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We definitely wanna be across the digital space.
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At the same time we do business with both Netflix
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and Amazon, and of course our customers get those products
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through Comcast broadband.
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So it is in everybody's interest to find a way
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for the consumer to get whatever they want,
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whenever they want it, and to have a lot of choices.
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And that is what we're all racing toward.
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And I think we're in a very special place
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at this cross-section of media and technology
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and it's an opportunity that we're not trying
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to be complacent, but rather trying to really innovate
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and push ourselves with the kind
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of things you're talking about.
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I didn't even think about that, yeah,
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with Netflix you've got the broadband.
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I was gonna go on and add an additional thought about that,
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but I was gonna ask, I can't remember what it was,
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but I will come back to that in a second.
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Okay, the upfront for NBC was much better than last year
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and somehow it was bundled with the other properties.
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Did that pay off and, 2.1 is what,
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how much more than last year?
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It's a couple hundred million dollars, my understanding.
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Linda Yaccarino is the Chief Advertising Executive
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for all of NBCUniversal, new to the company.
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This was her first upfront, and we changed something
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that had seems kind of logical,
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but maybe there are certainly other ways to do business,
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but we chose to put all the NBC properties
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under one umbrella, under Linda, so that would be
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the broadcast properties, the cable properties,
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the sports properties, the digital properties,
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Hispanic offerings, all under one executive,
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to go out and offer a complete solution to your clients.
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And I think that we've had a very good upfront,
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very strong upfront, and I think maybe better
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than some of our competitors,
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I think the overall environment was good,
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maybe not the best.
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And so net net, we feel we came out with real progress.
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And also our shows, generally speaking,
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perform better than they had in prior years,
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and our ratings got better,
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and are therefore what it is we were offering
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not only was a complete solution,
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but it also was doing better in the market.
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So a lot of good forces, but it starts with leadership,
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and we had a really strong leader in Linda,
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and we're delighted with the outcome.
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I was thinking about Hulu,
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were the offers, I suppose there were five different people
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that wanted it, were the offers not up to speed,
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or did the potential of it just so compelling
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that it was better to invest in it than sell it?
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You know, I gotta refer you to talk to Disney and Fox
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about that question, they're the decision makers.
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But it's a changing space,
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and when they chose to keep it,
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and to invest and to be part of that company,
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we certainly said we'll put our pro rata share of that
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to stay in.
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Yesterday, I also saw that, it was just written,
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that Moonves said Greenblatt made a comment
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that for broadcast TV now, that flat is the new up,
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and that he disagreed with that.
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Where do you come down?
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I'll leave it to those two, they're more expert than I am.
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You're cable guy.
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No, I think that, I hope we're managers as well as
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folks who can see good opportunities and invest
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in those businesses and in Bob Greenblatt,
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I think we have a very very superstar talented programming
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executive who may be as realistic in what's happening
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with so many choices for consumers,
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but it still is the best value for an advertiser,
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'cause it aggregates more eyeballs than any other
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of the media offerings out there.
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And so what we're focused on is the,
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whether it's America's Got Talent last night
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or The Voice return with the original judges,
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or the new primetime season with some very exciting shows
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that I know Bob and the team have worked really hard
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to create.
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They're starting to advertise those shows now.
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You can feel the excitement in the air.
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We are coming from a position,
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when we bought the company, where for year after year
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after year, we were in last place, in 2013 we moved up,
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and I know Bob would like to continue to move up.
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So part of it is getting paid
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for what you're already performing.
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And in the case of NBC it wasn't where we wanted to be
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and we said it would take several years
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to do that turnaround, and you feel like that's begun,
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and that's really his great leadership.
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It was losing money,
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is the broadcast network making money now, Brian?
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Well, if you add up all the parts,
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including the TV stations and the syndication,
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I'll defer to Mike Angelakis when he's on here
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to break it up for you.
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I think we feel we're definitely on a good trend,
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and yeah, we're not in the kind of position we were
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when we bought the company and that's part
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of why you see the improvement that you started
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the interview with, it's been a good turnaround.
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Okay good, we don't wanna get too long,
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there'll be a time and place to talk about Aero,
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and what happens if people are able to pick
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and choose cable channels that they want.
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I mean, the future is still daunting,
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but you feel like it's all manageable?
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Let me say this, the future is,
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when you're at the cross-section of technology and media
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and you have a company that's uniquely in that position,
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the first thing you gotta do is execute well.
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And what I think today's all about is the kind
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of numbers we posted, the broadband increases.
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NBC 21% cash flow growth, free cash flow,
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the best quarter we've ever had.
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I think that gives you the momentum to solve
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whatever is put before you and try to make those worries
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into opportunities,
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which we've been having this conversation,
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and I'll come back again and will continue to talk
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about where the media business is going,
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'cause it's so interesting and exciting.
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Good, and this is, company reports at seven
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and at 7:30 we get to talk,
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and we should keep it like this,
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and I think it's excellent for Comcast and Squawk Box.
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Thanks for coming on and giving us so much time, Brian.
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Take care, alright.
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See ya.