Comcast Profit Rises on Broadband Gains, NBC Purchase

Comcast, the largest US cable company, reported an increase in first-quarter revenue and profit with the addition of broadband subscribers and the completion of a deal for control of NBC Universal.

Net income was $943 million, or 34 cents a share, compared with $866 million, or 31 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $12.1 billion, from $9.2 billion a year ago, when it didn't control NBC Universal. Comcast added 639,000 new Internet, video and voice subscribers, an 8.3 percent increase from a year earlier. The company added 418,000 high-speed Internet subscribers and lost 39,000 video subscribers. Revenue from cable networks, including Bravo, CNBC and MSNBC, rose 13 percent to $2.02 billion. Ratings increased for all cable stations other than USA, said Tom Eagan, an analyst at Collins Stewart LLC in New York. Broadcast television revenue was $1.35 billion, down from $2.08 billion when results included the Olympics.