Comcast released third-quarter results Wednesday that showed its revenue is growing at its fastest clip since the fourth quarter of 2008.
Net income dipped 8 percent, but only because of one-time costs, including legal bills and other expenses related to its pending takeover of NBC Universal. Comcast is hoping to win federal approval for its purchase of a controlling stake in the entertainment company from General Electric Co. by the end of the year.
Comcast shares rose 75 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $20.39 in midday trading Wednesday.
"They performed well in a difficult environment," Kaufman Bros. analyst Todd Mitchell said.
The company faces two sets of obstacles in trying to win new customers.
First, a depressed housing market and high unemployment mean fewer people are moving to new homes and adding new cable hookups.
Growth challengesSecond, Comcast is competing with an array of satellite and phone companies providing television in a market that is basically mature. Most households in the U.S. already have some kind of subscription TV service, so the search for new customers comes down to who can offer a package enticing enough to get people to switch.
At the same time Comcast's expenses are rising. The fees that it pays ESPN, MTV and other cable channels continue to increase. And over the past few years broadcast stations that used to allow cable companies to retransmit network television for free have been asking for fees as well, often resulting in nasty public feuds; Cablevision Systems Corp. and Fox remain locked in a fee dispute that has left the network off lineups in the New York area since Oct. 16.
Comcast paid $1.85 billion for programming in the third quarter, up 5 percent from a year ago.
That contributed to a 7 percent increase in overall operating expenses to $3.79 billion, from $3.53 billion.
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