Brian Roberts Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Comcast said it managed to boost profit during its fiscal first quarter even as it navigated a dip in media advertising and slowing growth among broadband subscribers, yet boosted U.S. subscribers to its Peacock streaming hub to 22 million. The Philadelphia owner of NBCUniversal, Sky and its large broadband and cable business said profit came to $3.83 billion, or 91 cents per share, compared with $3.55 billion, or 78 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Comcast reported earnings per share of 92 cents after adjusting for one-time items Revenue fell 4% to $29.69 billion, compared with $31.01 billion in the year-earlier period, thanks to comparisons with a quarter in 2022 that contained both the broadcast of the Super Bowl and the Beijing Olympics.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Top Comcast execs made their first public comments on the departure of NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell Thursday, remarks that came as the company reported its Q1 earnings results. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts opened a call with investors by saying Shell’s exit due to “inappropriate relationship” with a subordinate was “obviously a tough moment” adding, “we are so fortunate to have a fabulous and tenured leadership team at NBCUniversal.” “When you go down the list, you’ll see many of them have been leading their divisions within the company for at least 10 years and are the best in the business,” Roberts said. “We are also lucky to have Mike Cavanagh stepped in to help NBCUniversal while also remaining president.”

Jeff Shell looked more like a snowy-haired roadie than a VIP as he milled about in the wings of the Sahara Tent ahead of Blink-182’s set at Coachella on April 14. The NBCUniversal CEO had spent the day at the festival with his wife, Laura, in anticipation of the band’s first show in nearly a decade. Later, he took a seat alongside a leather-clad Kourtney Kardashian, whose long-running “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” holds a significant presence in the NBCUniversal spread, with all 20 seasons of the reality show having recently moved from Hulu to Peacock. But Shell wasn’t there on business. He enjoys close ties with the band’s bassist and co-lead vocalist, Mark Hoppus, a friendship forged thanks to their kids attending the same school in L.A.

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell was dismissed “with cause” due to “inappropriate conduct” and “sexual harassment” of an employee, according to a new SEC filing from parent company Comcast.

EXCLUSIVE: Multiple sources tell Deadline that the woman who filed the complaint against NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell for inappropriate conduct was CNBC anchor and Senior International Correspondent Hadley Gamble.

Comcast President Mike Cavanagh will take over Jeff Shell’s role at NBCUniversal as the former CEO exited suddenly Sunday after an investigation of inappropriate conduct.

Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said the media giant would of course consider alternative proposals for its stake in Hulu but they’d have to top its longstanding agreement to sell its remaining stake in the streamer to Disney next year.

13D and 13G reports. For those outside of the inside-baseball world of corporate finance: Forty-five days out from the end of the year, companies are required to have filed 13D and 13G disclosure forms with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are required for investors who amass 5% or more of a company’s total stock issue. Starting with this primer on how to monitor big-dollar investment bets, Variety will offer a quarterly survey of how the media and entertainment sector is faring among the world’s most sophisticated stock pickers.

“Soon, we’re going to add another Super Nintendo World to Universal Orlando Resort,” announced Universal Parks & Resorts Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark Woodbury on Wednesday night at the grand opening event for the same-named attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. He then admitted that the news may have been “the worst-kept secret in history.” You can watch the moment below.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said today that he’s open to selling Hulu — instead of forking over billions of dollars to buy out Comcast’s stake in the streaming platform.

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said execs at the company and parent Comcast are “more confident” than they were a year or two ago that investments in streaming service Peacock will soon yield profits. How soon remains a bit unclear, however.

NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell said the company is always eyeing possible deals to bolster its business, citing the $3.8-billion acquisition of DreamWorks Animation in 2016 and Universal’s partnership with Blumhouse Productions.

Comcast has upped its Deputy Chief Financial Officer Jason Armstrong to the CFO post, succeeding Mike Cavanagh, who was named president of the NBCUniversal parent last October.

Comcast has disclosed contract terms for Michael Cavanagh, a longtime exec who was promoted to president last October.

A platoon of titles hits the specialty circuit this weekend, getting in ahead of steamroller Avatar: Way of Water and the year-end deadline for Oscar eligibility. This is a soul-searching, what-lies-ahead moment for a market still much too inconsistent for comfort, but that can be pondered later. At the moment, indie distributors are quite busy “with all these movies, and these plans to release theatrically. We are not going anywhere,” said one executive.

At 15 million paid subscribers, Peacock isn’t on the same level as other streaming services, but NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell says that’s no accident.

BreAnna Bell Comcast Corporation has promoted Mike Cavanagh to president, making him the third person to occupy the role in the company’s 59-year history. He will continue to serve as chief financial officer in addition to working closely with chairman-CEO Brian Roberts on managing the company’s cable and broadband operations as well as NBCUniversal. “Today’s promotion will come as no surprise – Mike is admired and trusted by those who know and work with him,” Roberts said. “Mike has brought incredible operational and financial expertise to Comcast and is an integral part of our special company. He’s an outstanding partner and together we are focused on continuing to create new and exciting opportunities for growth.”  

With a bit more than a year left before Disney can buy out Comcast’s financial stake in Hulu, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts pushed back on Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s suggestion that Hulu’s value has declined amid public market skepticism about streaming.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Is there a bidding war brewing over Hulu? Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts called Hulu a “phenomenal business” — and said that if Disney were willing to sell it, the cable and media company would be interested in buying it out. “Hulu’s a phenomenal business. Its scale is fantastic. It has wonderful content,” Roberts said, speaking Wednesday at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia + Technology Conference 2022 in San Francisco. “If it was up for sale, Comcast would be interested” in buying 100% of Hulu, and “others would I think as well.” Disney currently owns 66% of Hulu and Comcast holds the remaining 33% stake. As of July 2, 2022, Disney recorded Comcast’s interest in Hulu as being worth $8.6 billion, implying a valuation of $25.8 billion. In an auction-style sale of Hulu in its entirety, Roberts suggested, Hulu may fetch more than that.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterPeacock ended the second quarter of the year with 13 million paid subscribers, Comcast revealed along with its Q1 earnings results Thursday.That total is flat with the 13 milion paid subscribers Comcast reported for the streamer in Q1, which has both free, ad-supported and paid, ad-free tiers. When Comcast chairman-CEO Brian Roberts revealed that data back on April 28, also saying Peacock had 28 million monthly active accounts, he warned the company did not anticipate this dramatic level of growth quarter-to-quarter for Peacock becoming the norm, as the four million paid subscriber additions it boasted in Q1 were largely attributed to Peacock streaming both Super Bowl LVI and the Beijing Winter Olympics during the quarter.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSUN VALLEY, Idaho — The moguls have arrived.On Tuesday, dozens of titans of the business, media and tech worlds came out to play at the Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho for the start of Allen & Co.’s annual meeting of movers and shakers.The invitation-only conference will include three days of seminars and meetings that are held away from the prying eyes of the public, which kick off Wednesday morning. So today was all about meeting and greeting each other at the posh retreat in Idaho’s picturesque Sawtooth Mountains.Arrivals began at the Sun Valley Lodge around 11 a.m.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaIt’s that time of year again. That post-July 4th period when media barons and billionaires break out the Brooks Brothers casual and don their sweater vests to hit an idyllic Idaho resort town of Sun Valley for another edition of “lets make a deal.”Many of the names expected to rub elbows next month are familiar ones. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Liberty Media’s John Malone, Comcast chairman Brian Roberts, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple pasha Tim Cook and Berkshire Hathaway guru Warren Buffett are among those who have once again made the cut for Allen & Co.’s annual media conference.

according to Business Insider. The embattled company saw its share price rise 10% Wednesday while Netflix’s stock price has risen 2%. In response to recent chatter, Roku has reportedly halted the employee trading window, which prevents employees from selling vested stock.

After witnessing the carnage on Wall Street after Netflix reported stalling subscriber levels, raising stark questions about the business of streaming, Comcast kept talk of NBCUniversal’s Peacock somewhat limited during its first-quarter earnings call.

Paid subscriptions were up for Peacock in Q1, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts announced on Thursday on the company’s earnings call.Peacock added 4 Million paid subscribers in Q1, for a total of 13 million. Roberts also noted the service had reached 28 million active accounts in total.Last quarter, Peacock had 9 million paid subscribers and a total of 24.5 million active users.The increase comes on the heels of Peacock airing a variety of big sporting events including the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterPeacock ended the first quarter of the year with 28 million monthly active accounts (MAAs) and 13 million paid subscribers, Comcast revealed along with its Q1 earnings results Thursday.That total is up from the 24.5 million Comcast reported for the streamer’s end of 2021 figure. During Q1, Peacock streamed Super Bowl LVI and the Beijing Winter Olympics, along with debuting splashy titles like “Bel-Air,” its dramatic take on the ’90s classic “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” Jennifer Lopez’s theatrical-and-streaming release “Marry Me,” and “Tiger King” scripted series “Joe vs.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorComcast said first-quarter profit rose due to NBCUniversal’s telecasts of both Super Bowl LVI and the Winter Olympics, as well as a surge in broadband customers at its cable operations.The Philadelphia cable and media giant saw overall revenue increase 14% to slightly more than $31 billion, compared with $27.2 billion in the year-earlier period, with a whopping 46.6% increase in revenue at its NBCU operations due in part to $1.5 billion in cash generated by the two big sports events. But even without those two landmark broadcasts, Comcast said, NBCU revenue would have increased.Overall, Comcast reported net income of $3.55 billion in the first quarter, or 78 cents a share, compared with $3.32 billion, or 71 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

donated 100% of their respective salaries to COVID-19 relief charities from April to September 2020. So over the course of six months, $1.25 million of Shell’s 2020 salary was donated and $1.7 million of Roberts’.“We hope in some small way we can make this time easier on our employees, our local communities and our customers,” Roberts said in an email sent to staff that April when the announcement was made, which came shortly after Shell had tested positive for COVID-19.At that time, Comcast also committed $500 million to continue paying and providing benefits for its employees where operations had been impacted by COVID-19 shutdowns.A month after the Comcast and NBCU revealed their salary donation plans last year, Shell’s NBCUniversal joined the ranks of media companies that instituted pay cuts for its highest-salaried employees amid the pandemic, implementing a 20% pay cut for top management.

Total compensation last year for Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts was $33.9 million, up 3.8% from $32.7 million the year before.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorJeff Shell, CEO of Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, saw his total compensation climb to $21.6 million last year, up 30% over the year prior — the biggest pay bump among Comcast’s top execs in 2021.Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts’ pay package rose 3.7% in 2021, to $34 million. The disclosures came in the cable and entertainment giant’s proxy statement filing with the SEC Friday.Shell, who oversees NBCU’s studios, networks, theme parks, and the Peacock streaming service, in 2021 earned $2.5 million in base salary, plus $5.5 million in stock, $3.4 million in stock options, a $9.98 million bonus and $165,000 in other compensation.“Mr.

Confronted with a question increasingly on investors’ minds — namely, is streaming a real business? — Comcast CEO Brian Roberts made the case that for his company it is.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterJennifer Lopez’s “Marry Me” is the most-streamed day-and-date movie on Peacock and Will Smith’s gritty “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” reboot “Bel-Air,” which debuted after the Super Bowl last month, is the platform’s top series, Comcast CEO and chairman Brian Roberts said during a Morgan Stanley conference Monday.More to come…

Universal already had May 13 this year reserved for a Blumhouse movie, and it turns out that’s Firestarter. The movie will go day-and-date on Peacock too as the streamer needs to up its paid subscriber count. Firestarter is the only wide theatrical release on May 13, and follows the weekend after Disney/Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. 

NBCUniversal is using the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony to highlight the extravagant plumage of its nascent streaming service Peacock.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorJohn Stankey and Brian Roberts are wrestling with different sides of the same problems.For Big Media, the fourth-quarter earnings revelations so far have reinforced predictions that 2022 is the year the honeymoon ends for the promise of new streaming ventures. Now it’s entrenching time.

NBCUniversal theme parks posted their most profitable fourth quarter ever today, led by Universal Studio Orlando, where Epic Universe is rising.