NBCUniversal Media LLC reported increased revenues and a widening loss for Peacock during the third quarter but did not supply updated subscriber figures for the streaming service.
Peacock, which bowed to parent Comcast Corp. customers in April 2020 and nationally three months later, registered a sixfold jump in revenue to $230 million during the three months ended Sept. 30, from $41 million in the third quarter of 2020, while recording an adjusted loss of $520 million, compared with an adjusted loss of $233 million in the prior-year period.
However, the company, for the first time since Peacock's debut, did not specify the service's sign-up rate or monthly active accounts base, which stood at 54 million and 20 million, respectively, at the close of the second quarter.
NBCU CEO Jeff Shell said on an Oct. 28 earnings call that "everything on Peacock is heading in the right direction." Shell said the service added a few million more monthly active accounts but did not provide specifics.
Whatever the current totals, they will rise as Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said Peacock will launch on the company’s international Sky systems next month. The service will be added to Sky's 20 million customers, with Sky Q, NOW and Sky Ticket subscribers in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland receiving Peacock at no extra cost.
Overall, Shell said Peacock is exceeding expectations every month and quarter, adding, "Our usage continues to be great."
Roberts said NBC (US) sci-fi drama "La Brea" is the best new series performer on Peacock.
After bowing with a set of launch sponsors, Shell said the company began selling advertising beyond sponsorships at the tail end of the third quarter, and it's "going spectacularly well."
Shell noted that the service has performed despite being behind schedule relative to original productions, owing to the slowdown from the pandemic. He said a ramp-up in Peacock is forthcoming and that "robust originals" are integral for continued growth.
Shell said the service has benefited from the inclusion of concurrent theatrical releases like "The Boss Baby: Family Business" in July and now "Halloween Kills," which he labeled as a huge hit on both Peacock and at the box office. "So it shows that you can kind of play in two different markets," he said. During his opening remarks, Roberts said "Halloween Kills" was the No. 1 nonlive event premiere for Peacock.
The film earned an opening gross of $49.4 million domestically, slaying competition at the box office.
The move to place Universal films on the streaming service during the pay 1 window — those theatricals will air on Peacock exclusively for the first and last four-month segments in the pay window, with Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video and Netflix Inc. sharing rights for the 10 months in between — begins in the first quarter of 2022, ensuring a steady stream of films. "We've seen across all streaming platforms that movies move the dial," said Shell.
Peacock will also be part of NBCU's coverage of the Winter Olympics from Beijing in the first quarter of 2022.
Revenue for NBCUniversal increased 57.9% year over year to $10.00 billion in the third quarter of 2021, including $1.8 billion of revenue from the Tokyo Olympics. Looking at just media revenues, they were up 47.5% to $6.77 billion in the third quarter, reflecting higher advertising revenue and distribution revenue. Excluding the $1.8 billion of revenue generated by the Tokyo Olympics, media revenue was up 9.2% year over year.
