Comcast (CMCSA Quick QuoteCMCSA - Free Report) has been riding on NBCUniversal’s (“NBCU”) strong content portfolio and expanding broadband subscriber base. Peacock’s growing adoption rate is also noticeable with the streaming service reporting user base growth of 60% in first-quarter 2023.

Comcast shares have returned 23.6% year to date, outperforming the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector’s return of 15.8%. It has also outperformed peers like Disney (DIS Quick QuoteDIS - Free Report) and Paramount Global (PARA Quick QuotePARA - Free Report) , shares of which have declined 0.7% and 5.8%, respectively, year to date.

NBCU Updates 2023-2024 Fall Lineup

NBCU recently released its fall schedule for the 2023-2024 season. The fall saga will kick off with a two-hour premiere of the Emmy-nominated reality show The Voice, scheduled for Sep 25 and America’s Got Talent’s season finale wrap-up, scheduled for Sep 27.

While original debut series like The Irrational, starring Jesse L. Martin and Found, starring Shanola Hampton are included in the fall lineup, several series, including Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Night Court, Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU, which were originally slated to air in fall, were pushed back to 2024, amid the Winter’s Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

However, Quantum Leap and Magnum, P.I. will be returning with new seasons on Oct 4 at 9 and 10 p.m., respectively. The hospital set drama Transplant, followed by Dateline NBC will be airing on Thursdays from Oct 5.

All the shows will stream a day later on Peacock, NBCU’s streaming platform.

Additionally, a live telecast of the first-ever People’s Choice Country Awards, with a two-hour runtime, will be simultaneously aired on Sep 28, across the NBC and Peacock platforms.

NBCU Benefits from Strong Content Portfolio

NBCU has a strong content portfolio, driven by popular TV shows like Saturday Night Live. It also has an impeccable lineup of sports content, including Sunday Night Football, Premier League and Big 10, as well as streaming originals like Poker Face.

NBCU witnessed encouraging results in the first quarter of 2023, wherein paid subscribers and engagement levels rose to roughly 20 hours per subscriber per month, fueling strong growth in advertising revenues.

NBCU’s initiative to invest in more content has also encouraged it to raise the prices of Peacock. It recently announced a monthly hike in Peacock’s subscription fees, effective Aug 17, which is a first for the streaming platform since its debut in 2020.

Peacock Premium, which includes advertisements, will see a $1 increase to $5.99 per month, while Peacock Premium Plus, which offers primarily commercial-free content, will rise $2 to $11.99 per month. Despite the price increases, Peacock remains competitively priced compared with other streaming services.

Peacock’s streaming counterparts, including Netflix (NFLX Quick QuoteNFLX - Free Report) , Disney and Paramount, have also raised prices in recent times.

Disney raised Disney+ streaming platform’s ad-free price to $10.99 per month and ad included cost to $7.99 per month. Paramount Global raised Paramount+ and Paramount+ Essential streaming costs to $11.99 and $5.99 per month, respectively.

Netflix hiked prices in early 2022 to $6.99 and $19.99 per month, for its ad-supported and ad-free subscription tiers, respectively. It scrapped the basic ad-free plan for new and rejoining members in Canada in the second quarter of 2023 and is doing the same for U.K. and U.S.-based subscribers.

Within three years of its debut, Peacock was able to increase its content to 80,000 hours and is expected to reach 100,000 hours in total over the coming year. Further investments in content development are expected to help in expanding the subscriber base.

Moreover, NBCU parent Comcast’s recent decision to add 20 free ad-supported television (“FAST”) channels to its X1 platform service is expected to further drive the user base. CMCSA first launched this channel to the Xfinity Stream app in April and then brought them to its latest OTT offering, Now TV.

Now TV offers more than 40 live channels from A+E, AMC, Hallmark and Warner Bros. Discovery, in addition to the 20 integrated FAST channels, with a subscription to Peacock Premium at no additional cost.

Zacks Rank & Estimate Details

Comcast, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), is set to release its second-quarter 2023 results on Jul 27. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2023 revenues is pegged at $30.25 billion, indicating growth of 0.8% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. The consensus mark for earnings is pegged at 98 cents per share, indicating a decline of 2.97% from the year-ago quarter.