General Electric Co. (NYSE GE), owner of the 83 year old peacock NBC, wants to sell part of it to Comcast Corp. (NYSE: CCT), according to Alisa Roth, who reports that GE has entered into negotiations with Comcast to do just that.

Comcast is already the biggest cable operator in the country. If the deal goes through Comcast would own NBS, Bravo, CNBC and MSNBC, and other channels.

Continue reading GE in talks to sell NBC to Comcast

GE in talks to sell NBC to Comcast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cable operator Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), a competitor of DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) and DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH), issued its first-quarter earnings report on Thursday, and overall it was a satisfying set of data. Revenues grew 14% to $8.4 billion. Adjusted earnings per share increased 12% to $0.19 (on a reported basis, however, they did decline by 8%). One of my favorite things to look at is free cash flow -- Comcast scored here, as free cash jumped 59% to over $700 million.

I've never owned Comcast stock, and I'm on record as preferring content companies over distribution platforms. That being said, I do have to say that Comcast is a pretty good name in its industry, and that it seems to be doing quite well with its various offerings. Looking through the earnings release, I see that Comcast added close to half-a-million digital cable customers. The high-speed internet service and digital-phone service also seem to be performing (on an anecdotal level, it does feel like more and more people are taking up the triple-play suite that Comcast is constantly promoting). The programming segment, which includes channels such as E! and The Golf Channel, saw revenues increase 20% and it delivered a nice stream of cash flow. The company bought back almost 2% of its outstanding shares, and management plans to buy more under its repurchase initiative.

If you're looking to get in on the stock, I'd wait for a pullback after Thursday's 8% pop in share price. Like I say, I do like content companies, but Comcast might be an interesting long-term idea, since it will probably be the beneficiary of a desire on the part of media conglomerates such as Disney (NYSE: DIS), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), and Viacom (NYSE: VIA) to engage more digital distribution via video-on-demand and to, in fact, experiment with day-and-date release (which I talked about in a recent piece). If this paradigm ever hits a critical mass, then Comcast should do well with it.

Disclosure: I own shares in Disney; positions can change at any time.

Comcast's earnings and cash flow impress, but wait for a pullback in share price originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 May 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Investors have shied away from the big telcos in recent years because of concerns that their traditional businesses were shrinking," notes George Putnam III, an expert in uncovering turnarounds.

But now, he explains, "After years of concern about the cable companies invading their turf, the big telecoms are now well positioned to fight back."

In his The Turnaround Letter, the advisor looks at seven leaders in the global telecom space, all of which he says represent global leaders, with dominant positions in their local markets and the "potential to grow steadily by expanding the services they offer."

AT&T (NYSE: T) Putnam notes, gained control of Cingular Wireless due to its merger with Bellsouth. The renamed AT&T Wireless, he says, will account for about 35% of AT&T's revenues.

The advisor observes, "In addition to a strong wireless presence, AT&T is rolling out fiber-based landline services. With revenues expected to be north of $120 billion in 2007 and substantial operating cash flow, AT&T is a force to be reckoned with." Further, he notes, the dividend was just raised for the 22nd consecutive year, and the company is expected to repurchase roughly $7 billion worth of stock in 2007.

Continue reading Telecom turnarounds: Putnam's 7 global favorites

Telecom turnarounds: Putnam's 7 global favorites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading What Comcast giveth to families... they telleth not of

What Comcast giveth to families... they telleth not of originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 May 2006 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.