Peacock has extended its profit run to a second consecutive quarter, giving NBCUniversal’s flagship streaming service another major lift as its subscriber base reached 48 million.

The total was up from 41 million subscribers in the year-earlier period. Peacock generated a pre-tax profit of $261 million in Comcast’s third quarter, improving from a $217 million loss one year earlier.

That performance followed the streamer’s first quarterly profit in the second quarter, when it earned $189 million. Together, the results mark two straight profitable quarters for a service that was still reporting a loss during the comparable third-quarter period a year ago.

World Cup coverage boosts Peacock

FIFA World Cup games contributed to both profitable quarters. In the second quarter, the tournament provided $440 million in incremental media revenue and helped lift Peacock to its maiden quarterly profit.

The final games were shown at the beginning of the third quarter on Peacock and NBCUniversal’s Spanish-language Telemundo service. That coverage generated another $224 million in incremental revenue during the latest period.

Peacock’s overall third-quarter revenue climbed to $1.8 billion, compared with $1.4 billion in the prior-year quarter. The service’s performance came after recent subscription price increases and alongside lower programming costs.

The streaming figures were disclosed Thursday as Comcast, led by Brian Roberts and Michael Cavanagh, reported its third-quarter financial results.

Media gains offset wider pressure

Peacock’s latest profit contributed to a stronger quarter for Comcast’s content and experiences businesses. Revenue for the division rose 6.5 percent year over year to $10.5 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased 29 percent to $1.8 billion.

Media revenue advanced 13 percent to $5.35 billion, with the segment recording adjusted EBITDA of $769 million.

The studios operation moved in the opposite direction. Studios revenue declined 1.1 percent to $2.96 billion, while adjusted EBITDA came to $402 million. Universal received contributions during the quarter from Christopher Nolan’s epic The Odyssey and Minions & Monsters.

At the broader corporate level, Comcast continued to contend with weakness in its broadband division. Total third-quarter revenue fell 6 percent to $29.29 billion, down from $31.19 billion in the same period of 2025.

Despite that revenue decline, net income attributable to Comcast rose 3.5 percent to $3.44 billion. The company had reported $3.33 billion in net income during the comparable period of 2025.

Broadband customer losses also moderated. Comcast lost 376,000 broadband subscribers in the third quarter, an improvement from the 475,000 customers lost one year earlier.

The results follow the separation involving Versant, the cable television-focused spinoff from NBCUniversal. Versant operates CNBC, MS NOW, USA, Golf Channel and other assets.

ShowBiz Take

Peacock’s significance within Comcast’s entertainment business is becoming clearer in the numbers. The streamer added seven million subscribers from the year-earlier period, increased quarterly revenue by $400 million and moved from a $217 million pre-tax loss to a $261 million profit.

The World Cup provided substantial incremental revenue across both profitable quarters, but the third-quarter report also shows a wider mix of factors behind Peacock’s performance, including subscriber growth, recent price increases and lower programming costs.

That makes the two-quarter streak more consequential than a single profitable period. Peacock is now supplying growth inside Comcast’s media operations at a time when the parent company’s total revenue is declining and its broadband business continues to lose customers, even at a slower pace than a year ago.