MUMBAI: US cable and entertainment major Comcast?s first quarter consolidated revenue increased marginally by 2.9 per cent. Operating cash flow increased by 7.4 per cent and operating income rose by 11.2 per cent.

However revenue for subsidiary NBCUniversal decreased by 2.4 per cent to $5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2013 compared to $5.5 billion in the first quarter of 2012. Excluding $259 million of revenue generated by the broadcast of the NFL?s Super Bowl in the first quarter of 2012, the Q1 2013 revenue increased by 2.4 per cent. Operating Cash Flow increased by 17.2 per cent to $953 million compared to $813 million in the first quarter of 2012, reflecting strong results at Cable Networks, Film and the Theme Parks divisions.

Comcast chairman CEO Brian L Roberts said, "We are off to a solid start in 2013, with strong revenue and cash flow growth and record quarterly free cash flow. Cable?s results highlight revenue growth in every product, led by Video and High-Speed Internet, and overall customer growth, as we continue to effectively balance financial and customer performance. NBCUniversal?s businesses also generated strong first quarter performance, led by Film and Cable Networks. We completed the acquisition of NBCUniversal during the quarter and look forward to continuing to drive innovation and operational excellence to deliver superior entertainment and communications choices for consumers."

For the first quarter of 2013, revenue from the cable networks segment increased by 4.6 per cent to $2.2 billion as compared to the first quarter of 2012, driven by an 8.6 per cent increase in distribution revenue. Ad revenue increased by 2.5 per cent, primarily reflecting price increases, offset by lower ratings, and content licensing and other revenue decreased by 11.9 per cent.

Operating cash flow increased by 6.2 per cent to $859 million compared to $809 million in the first quarter of 2012, reflecting higher revenue and a 2.4 per cent increase in programming and production costs, due to the continued investment in original programming, partially offset by lower sports programming costs compared to last year?s first quarter.

Broadcast Television: For the first quarter of 2013, revenue from the broadcast television segment decreased by 18.5 per cent to $1.5 billion compared to $1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2012. Excluding $259 million of revenue generated by the NFL?s Super Bowl in the first quarter of 2012, revenue decreased by 5.3 per cent, driven by lower primetime ratings at the NBC broadcast network and lower content licensing revenue.

Primarily reflecting the decline in revenue, the broadcast television segment generated an operating cash flow loss of $35 million in the first quarter of 2013 compared to a loss of $14 million in the first quarter of 2012.

Film: For the first quarter of 2013, revenue from the film segment increased by two per cent to $1.2 billion compared to the first quarter of 2012, driven by higher theatrical revenue from the strong box office performance of ?Les Miserables? and the first quarter releases of ?Identity Thief? and ?Mama?, as well as higher content licensing revenue. Operating cash flow increased to $69 million compared to $6 million in the first quarter of 2012, reflecting higher revenue due to improved performance and lower marketing expense due to fewer theatrical releases in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.

Theme Parks: For the first quarter of 2013, revenue from the theme parks segment increased by 12.2 per cent to $462 million compared to $412 million in the first quarter of 2012, driven by higher attendance at the Orlando and Hollywood parks, which benefitted, in part, from the timing of holidays. First quarter operating cash flow increased by 10.3 per cent to $173 million compared to $157 million in the same period last year, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by increased operating costs to support new attractions.

Revenue for cable communications increased by 6.4 per cent to $10.2 billion in the first quarter of 2013 compared to $9.6 billion in the first quarter of 2012, reflecting increases of 8.6 per cent in High-Speed Internet, 3.7 per cent in Video and 27.5 per cent in Business Services. Monthly average total revenue per Video customer increased 8.1% to $155.05, reflecting rate adjustments, an increasing number of residential customers taking multiple products and a higher contribution from Business Services.

Combined Video, High-Speed Internet and Voice Customers increased by 583,000 in the first quarter of 2013, a 3.2% increase in net additions compared to first quarter 2012, reflecting growth in High-Speed Internet and Voice customers. As of March 31, 2013, Video, High-Speed Internet and Voice customers totaled 51.9 million, an increase of 1.5 million or three per cent over last year?s first quarter.

MUMBAI: American media and technology company Comcast Corporation will take complete control of NBCUniversal by acquiring General Electric?s (GE) entire 49 per cent common equity stake in the joint venture for approximately $16.7 billion.

NBCUniversal will also purchase from GE the properties used by NBCUniversal at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and CNBC?s headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, NJ for approximately $1.4 billion.

Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51 per cent interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49 per cent stake. In 2011, Comcast acquired a 51 per cent majority stake in media conglomerate NBCUniversal from GE.

The acquisition accelerates GE?s divestiture ahead of a redemption period that would have begun in July 2014 and solidifies Comcast?s position as a leading media and technology company. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of this year.

"This is an exciting day for Comcast as we have agreed to accelerate the purchase of NBCUniversal. The management team at GE has been a wonderful partner during the past two years and their support has been very valuable. Our decision to acquire GE?s ownership is driven by our sense of optimism for the future prospects of NBCUniversal and our desire to capture future value that we hope to create for our shareholders," said Comcast Corporation Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts.

"We believe the terms of the transaction are attractive and have planned for this event by taking a number of financial steps to prepare our balance sheet. We believe we are in a strong and unique position to continue to grow and build value in our combined company."

The transactions will be funded with $11.4 billion of cash on hand, $4 billion of subsidiary senior unsecured notes to be issued to GE, $2 billion of borrowings under Comcast and/or subsidiary bank credit facilities and $725 million of subsidiary preferred stock to be issued to GE.

MUMBAI: NBCUniversal and Cablevision Systems Corp have entered into an extensive affiliation agreement to continue to offer portfolio of sports, news and entertainment broadcast and cable content to Cablevision TV customers.

The long-term agreement includes expansive rights to on-demand content from NBCUniversal?s cable and broadcast network portfolio, and access to live channels across multiple platforms, both in and out of the home.

In addition, the comprehensive agreement covers retransmission consent for NBC and Telemundo owned stations and continued carriage of NBCUniversal?s top rated cable networks including USA, Bravo Media, cloo, Chiller, CNBC, E!, G4, MSNBC, mun2, NBC Sports Network, Oxygen Media, Style Media, Syfy, Telemundo Media and The Golf Channel as well as Comcast Sports Network Philadelphia.
 
?Cablevision has always been a terrific partner to NBCUniversal and I?m thrilled they continue to recognize the worth of our top quality broadcast and cable networks and the value a multi-platform offering brings to their customers,? said NBCUniversal Executive Vice President, Content Distribution Matt Bond. "This broad agreement validates how content providers and distributors can come together and develop mutually beneficial deals of this magnitude.?

?This agreement ensures our customers will continue to enjoy many of the great networks and brands of cable television for years to come, including NBC, USA, CNBC and Bravo,? said Cablevision?s senior vice president of programming acquisition Tom Montemagno. ?It also, for the first time, allows us to deliver this programming to our customers outside the home, and we look forward offering a variety of these new NBCUniversal services starting early next year.?

MUMBAI: Cableready, the international television programme distribution and development company, has closed a series of global sales and renewal agreements which collectively exceed 315 hours of programming. The announcement was made by president, CEO Gary Lico.

He said, "As illustrated by the latest round of new deals and renewals, Cableready‘s diverse catalogue continues to attract return customers as well as forging new relationships with various broadcasters and platforms. We look to continue this momentum as we head to Mipcom."

The following sales and renewals deals have been closed by CABLEready as it prepares for the Mipcom market in Cannes, France next week:

? HBO Central Europe licensed 26 episodes of ‘Inside the Actors Studio‘, the long running interview series hosted by James Lipton, including the Brad Pitt episode.

? Multicanal (Spain) licensed six episodes of ‘Big Five Challenge‘, the African safari contestant show.

? NBCUniversal Latin America licensed 10 additional episodes of entertainment news magazine series ‘Hollywood Dailies‘.

? Turner Latin America licensed 50 episodes of movie countdown series ‘Hollywood‘s Top Ten‘.

? After a successful premiere with episode one, AETN‘s Bio (US) licensed episodes two through five of ‘Women on Death Row‘, a documentary series that offers a glimpse into the lives of woman who have committed the ultimate crime ? murder.

? Discovery‘s Destination America (US) licensed 11 titles from LMNO Productions, including ‘Secrets of Muscle Cars‘, ‘Secrets of High End Hawaii‘ and ‘World‘s Best Orlando‘.

? AETN UK has renewed season 12 of ‘Medical Detectives‘.

? Foxtel (Australia) renewed seasons one through five, as well as seasons 11 and 13 of ‘Forensic Files‘, a series that takes viewers through every step of a forensic investigations.

? MSM (Singapore) renewed 52 episodes of ‘Hollywood One on One‘, the series that gives viewers an up-close and uncensored look at the world‘s biggest films and top actors.

? Intra Communications (Russia) licensed 13 episodes of ‘The Minimalist‘, cooking series featuring New York Times food writer, culinary expert and TV personality Mark Bittman.

? SoHo Channel (New Zealand) licensed five episodes of ‘Inside the Actors Studio‘, including the Judd Apatow episode.

? Studio U7 (Russia) licensed 19 episodes of the procedural crime series ‘Medical Detectives‘.

? Hulu.com (US digital) licensed 13 titles from Alliant Content, including ‘Accident Investigator‘, ‘Billion Dollar Disasters‘, ‘Black Widow Women‘, ‘Fire and Ice‘ and ‘Gods of Destruction‘.

? Proxima Video VOD (Bulgaria) licensed five titles, including ‘Great Museums‘ and ‘It Could Happen Tomorrow‘.

 
CABLEready also licensed episodes of ‘Inside the Actors Studio‘ to several airlines. British Airways, Swiss International Airlines and Etihad Airways licensed the ‘Mad Men‘ episode, Korea Airline licensed the Colin Firth episode and Oman Air licensed the Brad Pitt episode.