Communications titan Comcast (CMCSA) knows that its days are numbered, in at least some parts of its operations. But that does not mean it cannot continue to get the most out of them, and has unveiled a new program, Universal Ads, in a bid to help, noted a CNBC report. The move gave investors some hope, sufficient hope to send shares up fractionally in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Universal Ads is a new platform that looks to give regular advertisers access to “premium video content.” This will, it is hoped, give smaller advertisers access to major broadcasts and the like, and also help pull some ad dollars away from more recent upstarts like social media and digital operations.
Right now, Universal Ads will, of course, be part of NBCUniversal’s operations, as well as Xumo, an ad-supported streaming platform that is a joint venture between Comcast and kind-of-rival Charter Communications (CHTR). Xumo works similarly to Pluto TV in that it offers a set of continuously-operating “channels”; three minutes on Xumo showed me Drybar Comedy and an entire channel of Leave it to Beaver reruns. But several other outlets are expected to be part of Universal Ads soon, including DirecTV, A&E, and even Roku (ROKU).
How Much Value in a Spin-Off?
Comcast, like several other media names, has either been considering or is in the process of spinning off its standard broadcast and cable units for some time now. But a report from Barron’s suggests that there may not be much value involved in such a spinoff after all, ultimately. The biggest problem for Comcast, the report notes, is its sheer complexity.
The report starts by pointing out that the ticker symbol alone is a major dramatic point: CMCSA notes that there are Class A shares involved, which by extension suggests other classes. The existence of other classes, the Barron’s report notes, “…often means that a founding family is using an off-limits class to maintain voting control that outweighs its economic stake.” With current CEO Brian Roberts also the son of Comcast’s founder, that does make a note of sense. Expand that outward to the theme parks and movie studios and it becomes clear Comcast is a lot more than just broadband.
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 11.77% loss in its share price over the past year, the average CMCSA price target of $49.16 per share implies 30.26% upside potential.
