Peacock adds five million subs in Q4 but losses climb to US$978m, Comcast reveals

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NBCUniversal’s Peacock added more than five million paid subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2022 to eclipse 20 million, driven by live sports and recent original films and series, parent company Comcast disclosed yesterday.

In terms of paid subscriber gains, this was Peacock’s strongest quarter since its launch in 2020.

However, adjusted losses related to Peacock widened significantly to US$978m in the fourth quarter, compared with US$559m a year earlier.

For 2023, Comcast said it expects to incur a loss of around US$3bn, up from US$2.5bn in 2022.

In fiscal 2022, Peacock revenue nearly tripled to US$2.1bn and its subscriber count more than doubled.

In its media segment, overall revenue increased by 2.6% to US$6bn in the fourth quarter, which it attributed to higher advertising revenue and distribution revenue. Around US$263m of that was generated by Telemundo’s Spanish-language broadcast of the World Cup.

In its studios segment, revenue climbed 13.1% to US$2.7bn due to higher content licensing and theatrical revenue. Within that, Comcast said its theatrical revenue was up by 47.3% on the back of the release of Ticket to Paradise, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Violent Night and Halloween Ends.

In addition to a slate of new original series, Peacock has also started to expand its content offering in recent months. In September, episodes from on-air NBC and Bravo shows started streaming on Peacock’s paid tier, rather than Hulu, the day after they debuted on linear. The deal means shows such as NBC’s Saturday Night Live, America’s Got Talent, Law & Order and Young Rock plus Bravo’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Below Deck, Top Chef and Southern Charm will land on Peacock after they premiere.