Comcast 1Q profit up 12 percent, advertising rebounds
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Consumers signing up for digital cable TV and high-speed Internet services led to a 12 percent increase in first-quarter profit for Comcast Corp.
The company also said advertising on its cable channels rebounded in the quarter, indicating that an economic upturn is taking hold.
The nation's largest cable TV provider still sounded cautious notes today. It said that its growth could be hampered in future quarters because the jobless rate remains high and the housing market still is under duress. Such factors could lead fewer people to sign up for service.
The quarter also showed how competition in the TV business is taking a toll. Comcast's overall video revenue fell, in part because the company wasn't able to raise cable TV rates as much as it had a year earlier.
Comcast earned $866 million, or 31 cents per share, from January through March. That compares with $772 million, or 27 cents per share, in the same quarter in the prior year.