Comcast | |
Formerly |
|
Company type | Public |
| |
Industry | |
Founded | June 28, 1963 Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S. |
Founder | Ralph J. Roberts |
Headquarters | Comcast Center, , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
Products | |
Revenue | US$121.6 billion (2023) |
US$23.31 billion (2023) | |
US$15.11 billion (2023) | |
Total assets | US$264.8 billion (2023) |
Total equity | US$83.23 billion (2023) |
Owner | Brian L. Roberts (1% equity interest, 33% voting power) |
Number of employees | 186,000 (2023) |
Divisions | |
Subsidiaries |
|
ASN | |
Website | corporate |
Footnotes / references [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] |
Comcast Corporation (simply known as Comcast, and formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings, stylized in all caps as COMCAST),[note 1] incorporated and headquartered in Philadelphia, is an American multinational telecommunications and media conglomerate.[8] The corporation is the second-largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue (behind AT&T). It is the third-largest pay-TV company, the second-largest cable TV company by subscribers, and the largest home Internet service provider in the United States. In 2023, the company was ranked 51st in the Forbes Global 2000.[9] Comcast is additionally the nation's third-largest home telephone service provider. It provides services to U.S. residential and commercial customers in 40 states and the District of Columbia.[10] As the owner of the international media company NBCUniversal since 2011, Comcast is also a high-volume producer of feature films for theatrical exhibition and television programming, and a theme park operator. It is the world's third-largest telecommunications company by revenue.
Comcast owns and operates the Xfinity residential cable communications business segment and division; Comcast Business, a commercial services provider; and Xfinity Mobile, an MVNO of Verizon. Through NBCUniversal, it also owns and operates over-the-air national broadcast network channels such as NBC, Telemundo, TeleXitos, and Cozi TV; multiple cable-only channels such as MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Syfy, Oxygen, Bravo, and E!; the film studio Universal Pictures; the VOD streaming service Peacock; animation studios DreamWorks Animation, Illumination, and Universal Animation Studios; and Universal Destinations & Experiences. It also has significant holdings in digital distribution, such as thePlatform, which it acquired in 2006; and ad-tech company FreeWheel, which it acquired in 2014. Since October 2018, it has also been the parent company of Sky Group.[11]
Comcast has been criticized and put under intense public scrutiny for a variety of reasons. Its customer satisfaction ratings were among the lowest in the cable industry during the years 2008–2010.[12][13] It has violated net neutrality practices in the past, and, despite its commitment to a narrow definition of net neutrality,[14] critics advocate a definition that precludes any distinction between Comcast's private network services and the rest of the Internet.[15] Critics also point out a lack of competition in the vast majority of Comcast's service areas; in particular, the limited competition among cable providers.[16] Given its negotiating power as a large ISP, some suspect that it could leverage paid peering agreements to unfairly influence end-user connection speeds. Its ownership of both content production (in NBCUniversal) and distribution (as an ISP) has raised antitrust concerns. These issues and others led to Comcast being dubbed "The Worst Company in America" by The Consumerist in 2010 and 2014.[17][18]
1912 | Universal Pictures is founded |
---|---|
1926 | NBC is founded |
1928 | Universal Cartoon Studios (later known as Universal Animation Studios) is founded |
1943 | Universal Television is founded |
1953 | NBC begins first compatible color broadcasts, preceding other networks by nine years |
1956 | NBC's peacock logo debuts |
1963 | American Cable Systems is founded |
1964 | Universal Studios Hollywood opens |
1967 | NBC broadcasts the first-ever Super Bowl |
1968 | American Cable Systems rebrands to Comcast |
1972 | Comcast began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) |
1975 | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment is founded Universal releases Jaws |
1982 | Universal releases E.T. The Extra Terrestrial |
1983 | Sally premieres |
1985 | Universal's Back to the Future premieres |
1986 | General Electric buys NBC for $6.4 billion NBC's modern peacock logo introduced |
1989 | NBC launches CNBC |
1990 | Sky is founded Universal Studios Florida opens Law & Order premieres |
1991 | Universal releases Backdraft and Cape Fear Jerry Springer and Maury both premiere |
1992 | Dateline NBC premieres |
1993 | Universal releases Jurassic Park and Schindler's List Homicide: Life on the Street premieres |
1994 | DreamWorks Animation is founded New York Undercover premieres |
1996 | NBC and Microsoft launch MSNBC |
1998 | Seagram acquires PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Universal Television becomes Studios USA Television |
1999 | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment is folded into Universal Pictures Universal Studios Florida expands to become Universal Orlando Resort Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premieres |
2001 | Grand opening of Universal Studios Japan Universal releases The Fast and the Furious and A Beautiful Mind Law & Order: Criminal Intent premieres |
2002 | NBC acquires Telemundo and Bravo Focus Features is formed Comcast acquires AT&T Broadband for $44.5 billion |
2003 | Universal becomes the first studio with five summer releases breaking the $100 million mark |
2004 | GE and Vivendi merge NBC and Universal into NBCUniversal |
2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury and The Office both premiere Focus Features releases The Constant Gardener and Brokeback Mountain Comcast sets up a joint-venture with PBS, Sesame Workshop & HIT Entertainment to form PBS Kids Sprout Comcast & Time Warner Cable jointly acquire Adelphia Cable assets for $17.6 billion |
2006 | USA Network begins 13-year streak as #1 cable network in total viewers Focus Features releases Hollywoodland and Catch a Fire |
2007 | Illumination is founded The Steve Wilkos Show premieres |
2010 | Universal releases Despicable Me Law & Order: LA premieres |
2011 | Vivendi divested in NBCU; Comcast buys 51% of NBCU from GE, turning it into a limited liability company The name "PBS Kids" is dropped out from Sprout (Leaving the name "Sprout") NBCUniversal Archives is founded |
2012 | Universal celebrates its 100th anniversary Chicago Fire premieres |
2013 | Comcast buys GE's remaining 49% of NBCU PBS sells Sprout to Comcast/NBCU |
2014 | Comcast attempts to acquire Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion Chicago P.D. premieres NBCUniversal reaches a new long-term deal with WWE |
2015 | Chicago Med premieres |
2016 | NBCU acquires DreamWorks Animation |
2017 | Chicago Justice premieres Sprout relaunches as Universal Kids |
2018 | Comcast acquires Sky after a heated bidding war with 21st Century Fox FBI premieres |
2019 | NBCU acquires Cineo Lighting Judge Jerry premieres |
2020 | NBCU launches Peacock FBI: Most Wanted premieres |
2021 | Grand opening of Universal Beijing Resort Law & Order: Organized Crime and FBI: International both premiere |
2022 | Karamo and Lopez vs Lopez both premiere |
2023 | Universal releases The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken and Oppenheimer |
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