Communications titan Comcast (CMCSA) has a bit of a problem. It delivered a pretty substantial win at the box office with Wicked, but now, it wants to keep the streak alive for Wicked: For Good when it comes out in November. But Comcast’s plan essentially boils down to “more of the same,” noted reports. And that did not sit well with investors, who sent shares down fractionally in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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Wicked was a winner. No mistake there; if the numbers did not do the job the 10 Academy Award nominations it pulled in will put that notion to bed. And, the report noted, there is another advantage Wicked: For Good will have: pent-up demand. People already want to watch this movie, and have wanted to since the first one ran out of runtime.
Thus, Comcast’s marketing efforts will be focused on reminder marketing, and walking the fine line between keeping more “casual” fans engaged while not giving away so much that it alienates the die-hard fans in the process. So the current plan is stick with what worked last time, since the chances of outright failure are comparatively slim. People will watch Wicked: For Good. The marketing is just to ensure the best chance at the biggest numbers.
Sports and News, Together At Last
Comcast then introduced a new video package designed to call better attention to some of its flagging linear television channels. Dubbed Xfinity Sports & News TV, the package offers over 50 different broadcast and cable news channels, as well as sports channels. It also includes digital video recording and Peacock streaming, all for one price.
That price is, frighteningly, $70 a month, though it needs to be “combined with Xfinity internet.” That may sound high, but it apparently also includes over 100 different “free streaming channels” built in, which might make it a solid value overall. Particularly if most of your television viewing focuses on sports and news viewing.
Is Comcast Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CMCSA stock based on 14 Buys and eight Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 1.92% rally in its share price over the past year, the average CMCSA price target of $48.95 per share implies 30.85% upside potential.
