Comcast in Philadelphia recorded a major spike in Peacock subscribers and revenue in the third quarter, proving that its investment in live sports was a good strategy, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal. 

Peacock saw a growth in subscribers of 80 percent year over year in the quarter ending September 30, with revenue jumping by 64 percent in the same period. 

The streaming platform added four million subscribers and brought in revenue totaling $830 million in the three-month period. This then pushed Comcast to lower its projected losses from Peacock from $3 billion to $2.8 billion for the entire year. 

Peacock, which launched three years ago, now has over 28 million subscribers. 

The media giant believes that the influx of new users can be attributed to a growing number of live sporting events that can be watched on the NBCUniversal streaming platform as well as the cutting of Peacock out of the company’s Xfinity bundle in June which converted those customers to paid subscribers. 

“A big part of that is a commitment and a belief that we see all sports finding a way … to be streamed,” said Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. “Sports is at the heart and soul of a lot of what we do.” 

Read more about Comcast in the Philadelphia Business Journal. 

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