Communications titan Comcast (CMCSA) may be having trouble with its news divisions, and with its online operations, but it may be about to make up for a lot of loss with its sports division. Sports are proving increasingly valuable for streaming, and Comcast looks to get regional sports networks (RSNs) in play in a matter of weeks.
Pick the best stocks and maximize your portfolio:
- Discover top-rated stocks from highly ranked analysts with Analyst Top Stocks!
- Easily identify outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks
A report from The Desk noted that Comcast wants to get regional sports networks in place pretty rapidly on the Peacock streaming service. In fact, it expects to have these in place in “the first half of 2025.” So while we may not get basketball, it is a safe bet we will have this ready for baseball season.
Once the services arrive, Peacock viewers will pay between $10 and $15 a month for access to a slate of RSNs, including in Boston, Philadelphia, Sacramento and San Francisco. The RSNs, in turn, will provide an array of “locally-televised games” from an array of teams, along with what is described as “related shoulder programming.” If you notice a huge geographic hole in there, Comcast did as well, and it is already in talks with other broadcasters to serve as a “distribution hub” for similar RSN content that is not owned by Comcast already.
Universal Toy Drive
With an upcoming installment of How to Train Your Dragon set to arrive in theaters this June—and this time, a live-action “re-imagining” not unlike the several that Disney (DIS) has released so far—Comcast is preparing a new line of toys to come out as well. And it has turned to Canadian toy giant Spin Master (TSE:TOY) to do the job.
Reports noted that the new toy line will feature just about every kind of merch a child-friendly film franchise could ask for: dolls and plush toys, action figures, even remote-controlled items and vehicles. While economic conditions may put a damper on the toy sales for a while—though with the upcoming changing of the presidential guard in the United States, who can tell for certain?—things may fire up once more in summer once the movie releases.
Is Comcast Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CMCSA stock based on 13 Buys and eight Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 10.68% loss in its share price over the past year, the average CMCSA price target of $49.17 per share implies 26.86% upside potential.
