:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-867061116-0a1839b361a9406b9672e49331248795.jpg "5 Companies Owned by Comcast")
Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) is a global media and technology conglomerate. The company was founded in 1963 when Ralph Roberts purchased American Cable Systems, a small subscriber cable system in Tupelo, Mississippi.
The cable company was subsequently incorporated under the name Comcast, had its first public stock offering in 1972, and has since grown into a world leader in media, entertainment, and technology. Now led by CEO Brian Roberts, the founder’s son, Comcast boasts a market cap of about $153.89 billion as of May 16, 2024. In 2023, the company posted an annual net income attributable to Comcast of $15.11 billion on revenue of $121.57 billion.
Comcast’s growth from a small cable operator into a multibillion-dollar media and tech giant has been driven to a large extent by strategic acquisitions, both horizontal and vertical. Horizontal acquisitions have helped the company expand into a leading provider of high-speed Internet, video, voice, wireless, and security and automation systems.
Part of this expansion is attributable to Comcast’s in-house Xfinity brand. Comcast has used other acquisitions to strengthen and broaden the types of media content businesses the company is engaged in, including cable television, broadcast television stations, filmed entertainment, theme parks, and more. Comcast has reportedly explored ways to adapt to the increasing prevalence of streaming services, including considering an attempt at acquiring streaming device giant Roku Inc. (ROKU), in 2021. Comcast has since redirected focus to launching their own streaming platform.
The company has not always been successful in snapping up every company that it has tried to acquire. In an attempt to acquire Fox in 2018, Comcast lost out to Walt Disney Co. (DIS). Comcast tried unsuccessfully to take over Disney in 2004.
AT&T has its origins in the 1876 invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell. In the following year, Bell and his partners founded the Bell Telephone Company. AT&T was subsequently incorporated as a subsidiary of Bell.
In 1899, it became the parent company of the entire Bell system after purchasing all of Bell’s assets. Fast-forward more than 100 years later, when AT&T in 2000 restructured into separately traded companies, one of which was AT&T Broadband.
Comcast acquired AT&T Broadband in 2002 in hopes that the cable provider would become a leading communications, media, and entertainment company. The acquisition has helped Comcast to provide faster broadband speeds as well as offer more innovative television services throughout the U.S.
NBCUniversal was the product of a 2004 merger of television network National Broadcasting Co. Inc., a subsidiary of General Electric Co. (GE), and French media conglomerate Vivendi Universal Entertainment. In 2011, Comcast acquired a 51% stake in the company from GE, thus forming a joint venture (JV). Comcast paid GE $6.2 billion in cash and contributed certain programming assets worth $7.25 billion to the JV. Comcast purchased the remaining 49% of NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion in 2013.
NBCUniversal is now a leading media and entertainment company that develops, produces, and distributes entertainment, news, information, sports, and a variety of other content for global audiences. The business also operates theme parks worldwide. NBCUniversal operates within three segments: Media, Studios, and Theme Parks.
Comcast and NBCUniversal are currently devising a strategy to dramatically expand into streaming media by either building a streaming business from within or buying a company. The company is eyeing a partnership with ViacomCBS Inc. or a takeover of Roku, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal, as also mentioned above. Media companies such as ViacomCBS, Walt Disney Co., and Amazon.com Inc. have pursued mergers to accelerate their streaming plans. Comcast is currently alone among media giants in combining both content and distribution.
Sky Broadcasting originated from an earlier merger between Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting. Comcast subsequently beat out rival Disney in securing control over Sky in 2018.
Sky is a leading European entertainment company, which provides video, high-speed Internet, voice, and wireless phone services. It also operates a content business, including entertainment networks, the Sky News broadcast network, and Sky Sports networks. The acquisition helped Comcast expand its international reach.
DreamWorks Animation originated as a division of DreamWorks SKG, which was founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, hence the S, K, and G in the company name. The company spun DreamWorks Animation off into a separate company in 2004. It was acquired 12 years later in 2016 by Comcast’s subsidiary, NBCUniversal.
DreamWorks Animation now forms part of Comcast’s Studio business. The studio produces animated film and television content, expanding Comcast’s kids and family media entertainment offerings.
XUMO was founded in 2011 as a JV between Viant Technology (then called Interactive Media Holdings) and Panasonic. The company was subsequently acquired by Comcast for an undisclosed amount in 2020.
XUMO offers free streaming entertainment, news, sports, and more with more than 190 different channels. It will continue to operate as an independent business within Comcast Cable. The acquisition expands Comcast’s video-streaming offerings and specifically provides free streaming content to consumers willing to watch advertisements that accompany that content.
As part of our effort to improve awareness of the importance of diversity in companies, we have highlighted the transparency of Comcast’s commitment to diversity, inclusiveness, and social responsibility. The below chart illustrates how Comcast reports the diversity of its management and workforce. This shows whether Comcast discloses data about the diversity of its board of directors, C-suite, general management, and employees overall across a variety of metrics. We have indicated that transparency with a ✔.
| Comcast Diversity & Inclusiveness Reporting | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race | Gender | Ability | Veteran Status | Sexual Orientation | |
| Board of Directors | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| C-Suite | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| General Management | ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Employees | ✔ | ✔ | |||
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