Latest in Brian Roberts

UPDATED with Disney comment, stock prices. After months of dueling with Disney for ownership of the majority of 21st Century Fox, Comcast has pulled out of the battle, ceding the prize and ending one of the highest-stakes duels in media history. "Comcast does not intend to pursue further the acquisition of the…

UPDATED with statement from Fox: Sending the ball back across the net, Comcast said it was upping its offer for European pay-TV giant Sky, just hours after 21st Century Fox boosted its own bid. Comcast put forward its new proposal at an implied value of $34 billion, or £26 billion at £14.75 per share. “Comcast has…

Comcast took its fight directly to 21st Century Fox shareholders, urging them to reject the Disney merger agreement in favor of its more lucrative offer. The U.S. cable giant laid out its case in a 43-page proxy solicitation that is unambiguous in its position that Comcast’s $35 all-cash proposal is a better deal for F…

Comcast today submitted a competing bid for 21st Century Fox, initiating what could well result in a high-stakes bidding war with its biggest media rival, The Walt Disney Co. The U.S. cable giant made an all-cash offer of $65 billion to acquire much of Fox’s film and television assets, its international holdings and…

Comcast confirmed today it’s not taking “no” for an answer in its pursuit of 21st Century Fox’s film and television assets. The U.S. cable giant said plans are in an “advanced stage” for it to make a richer, all-cash offer for the constellation of media assets that Fox agreed to sell to Disney last December in an…

It’s on. Comcast this morning confirmed its plan to make a rich counter-offer for the 21st Century Fox assets that Disney has proposed to acquire. The move sets in motion what could be one of the all-time merger battles in media. Comcast chief Brian Roberts is set to clash with Disney’s Bob Iger for control of the…

UPDATED at 7:30AM PT with analysis and executive comment. The Comcast machinery kept pumping out profit in the fourth quarter, with total revenue up 4% to $21.9B and NBCUniversal showing gains in both the cable and broadcast TV. Total revenue gained 4.2% to $21.9B. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes…

Citing “the passage of tax reform and the FCC’s action on broadband” (aka the Dec. 14 vote to repeal net neutrality), Comcast chief Brian Roberts announced $1,000 bonuses would go to more than 100,000 front-line and non-executive employees. Roberts also announced that the Company expects to spend “well in excess” of…

UPDATED, 7 AM PT with executive comments: Comcast reported a 13% gain in adjusted third-quarter profit due to growth in broadband subscriptions, with net earnings per share reaching 52 cents, up from 46 cents in the year-earlier quarter. The results for the period ending September 30 beat Wall Street analysts…

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts acknowledged today that the cable giant had “a couple of bad weeks” with the damage to its systems from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma — and that apparently deflated an early rally for his company’s stock after a widely respected analyst upgraded his recommendation to “buy.” Shares were up 2.6%…

Comcast is an island of calm in the middle of industries battered by competitive storms, executives told analysts today in their quarterly call to review earnings. NBCUniversal chief Steve Burke says he’s unfazed by the growth of over-the-top video services such as AT&T’s DirecTV Now, YouTube TV, Hulu Live, and Dish…

It doesn’t happen often, but in Q2 Comcast found more to like from its movie studio than from its cable systems. Universal’s The Fate Of The Furious helped to drive a nearly 60% gain in revenues vs the period last year at NBCUniversal’s Filmed Entertainment unit. Meanwhile, Comcast’s cable operation lost 34,000…