“The stats are fantastic,” enthused Comcast CEO Mike Cavanagh Tuesday on the NBCUniversal parent’s massive February sports push with Super Bowl LX, the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games and the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend in the network’s new rights deal with the league.
“I don’t think most people appreciate … the incredible effort it takes across the whole company,” Cavanagh said during a Q&A at Morgan Stanley’s annual media and telecom conference.
Comcast is at heart a broadband and distribution company, he said, noting that 17 billion minutes were streamed on Peacock with no real glitches across the month. “We know how to do this stuff,” said the executive who was elevated to co-CEO alongside Brian Roberts this year. “On the tech side, it’s a very big deal.”
He praised NBCU’s sports production and storytelling with shoutouts to Mike Tirico, as well as Snoop Dogg and Stanley Tucci, as well the marketing heft which resulted in 9 billion impressions used to promote sports as well as entertainment – which was half the viewing on Peacock during the 2026 games, which ran from Feb. 6-22.
Watch on Deadline
Peacock profits are coming “sooner rather than later,” Cavanagh promised. The streamer ended 2025 with about 44 million subscribers.
Asked about Epic Universe, he noted that international visitations to Orlando parks are softer, but domestic attendance is strong. Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said the same of Disney World speaking at the conference Monday.
Epic is “driving higher per caps across the whole Orlando parks system, and hotel stays, and length of stays,” said Cavanagh. “It’s check, check, check.” From here we’ll see “the park and workforce mature” in terms of ride flow and capacity.