Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts

Courtesy of Jonathan Pushnik/Comcast

Comcast is changing its segment reporting to reflect how it accounts for its European pay TV business Sky, which it acquired in 2018 for around $40 billion and which faces lowered future earnings projections due to macroeconomic headwinds.  

Beginning with its first quarter 2023 earnings, the NBCUniversal parent in a securities filing said it will report its Sky-branded entertainment TV channels as part of its connectivity & platform markets segment, which reports on key broadband and wireless businesses.

And the content & experiences segment, which contains media and entertainment businesses, will report on the Sky Sports channels and Sky-branded film and TV studio production and distribution operations.

The media segment contains NBCUniversal’s TV and streaming platforms, and Peacock, Comcast’s flagship streaming service. British-based Sky has had to battle economic headwinds in the UK and global industry disruption amid the streaming era.  

In the third quarter of 2022, Comcast recorded non-cash impairment charges of $8.6 billion related to goodwill and intangible assets in its Sky segment to reflect “reduced estimated future cash flows as a result of macroeconomic conditions in Sky’s territories.”

Sky’s revenue for the most recent fourth quarter decreased 13 percent to $4.4 billion, even as Comcast’s earnings and revenue during that quarter beat analyst expectations.

Besides presenting Sky’s results across its connectivity & platforms and content & entertainment segments, Comcast will reflect its cable TV results in its residential connectivity & platforms and business services connectivity segments.