Thanks to strong performances from The Blacklist and Grimm, among others, NBC is becoming a more meaningful contributor to Comcast's (CMCSA 1.34%) business, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.
NBC recently re-upped The Blacklist, which just this week returned from mid-season hiatus, for a second season. The show draws some 17 million viewers per episode for NBC while Grimm draws about 7 million. In each case, NBC seems to be winning over fans who spend at least a portion of their viewing hours watching edgy cable fare via HBO and AMC Networks, Tim argues.
They're having an impact as a result. Comcast collected $1.644 billion in Broadcast TV revenue in the third quarter, up 8.8% from $1.511 billion in 2011's Q3. Why exclude 2012? Comcast and NBC had the exclusive rights to broadcast 2012's London Summer Olympics, resulting in abnormally high ad revenue.
NBC is also winning acclaim among critics and awards panels. For example, actor James Spader was nominated for "Best Actor in a Television Series: Drama" at this year's Golden Globes -- the lone entry from a network TV program. Sure, Bryan Cranston took home the statue for Breaking Bad. That still doesn't diminish The Blacklist's growing impact on NBC's (and correspondingly, Comcast's) fortunes.
Do you agree? Are you watching The Blacklist? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take and then leave a comment to let us know whether you would buy, sell, or short Comcast stock at current prices.
