Comcast (CMCSA; CMCSK) is expected to report third quarter results before market open on Thursday, October 29, with a conference call scheduled for 8:30 am ET. What to watch for:
1. RETURN OF SPORTS, AD REVENUES RECOVERY: Citi analyst Michael Rollins raised the firm's price target on Comcast to $52 from $49, while keeping a Buy rating on the shares ahead of the company's third quarter results. While the NBC Universal and Sky businesses remain sources of headline risk for the second half of 2020, revenue for each should benefit from the return of sports and the opportunities for ad revenues to recover from the potential trough during the second quarter, Rollins told investors in a research note. The analyst expects third quarter results to focus around the resiliency of the connectivity business within cable.
2. THEME PARKS REOPENING: California health officials have issued guidance for reopening theme parks in the state, saying large parks must be in the state's "yellow" tier for economic recovery, with the virus largely contained, The New York Times' Tariro Mzezewa reported. Orange County, home to Disneyland (DIS), is currently in the "red," or second, tier and Los Angeles County, Universal Studios' location, is currently in the "purple" tier. The "yellow" tier requires there be fewer than one case a day per 100,000 residents and a testing positivity rate of less than 2%. The parks have been closed since March.
3. MOVIE DELAYS: Universal Pictures' "Jurassic World: Dominion" will now make its debut a year after its planned date for this coming summer till June 10, 2022, Variety's Rebecca Rubin reported.
Meanwhile, MGM, Universal, and Bond producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli also announced that the release of "No Time to Die," the 25th film in the James Bond series, will be delayed until April 2, 2021 in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience. "We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans but we now look forward to sharing NO TIME TO DIE next year," the James Bond Twitter account said.
4. COMCAST, ROKU REACH DEAL: Comcast and Roku (ROKU) have reached a deal months after NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service rolled out, The Verge's Julia Alexander reported. "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Comcast that will bring Peacock to Roku customers and maintains access to NBCU's TV Everywhere apps," a Roku spokesperson said. "We look forward to offering these new options to consumers under an expanded, mutually beneficial relationship between our companies that includes adding NBC content to The Roku Channel and a meaningful partnership around advertising."
5. ENTERTAINMENT UNIT REORGANIZATION: As part of a consolidation effort, Comcast's NBCUniversal is breaking its entertainment operations into separate business and creative units, The Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint reported back in August. These units will be in charge of content creation and distribution for NBCUniversal's broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. As a result of the new structure, NBC broadcast network entertainment chief Paul Telegdy is leaving the company, while Frances Berwick, who currently oversees the Bravo, E! and Oxygen cable networks, will head the business operations and deal-making for content across all the company's entertainment operations. The direct-to-consumer operations of NBCUniversal, which include its new Peacock streaming service, will continue to be overseen by Matt Strauss.
