Comcast reported $30 billion in second-quarter revenue, beating analysts’ estimates of $29.68 billion. Net income increased 9.2% to $3.4 billion.

NBCUniversal, which includes Peacock and NBC Sports, recorded an 18.7% revenue increase to $9.4 billion. Media revenue alone brought in $5.3 billion.

Sky, the European media and entertainment company Comcast acquired in 2018 for $39 billion, recorded a 16.4% decrease in content revenue to $265 million for the quarter, primarily attributed to changes in its sports programming licensing agreements in Italy and Germany.

• The division’s overall revenue decreased 13.8% to $4.5 billion.
• In 2021, Sky Italia entered a three-year, $318.7 million agreement with Serie A for domestic broadcasting rights. The first year’s fee was $103.2 million, the second $106.2 million, and the third $109.2 million.

During the quarter, Sky renewed broadcasting deals for the Masters Tournament and PGA Tour in the U.K. and Ireland. 

On July 1, NBCUniversal announced plans to shut down The Olympic Channel. NBCU paid $7.75 billion in 2014 for Olympic broadcasting rights through 2032.

Coming Up at Comcast

Brian L. Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, says the company expects properties including “Sunday Night Football” and the World Cup to “make significant contributions this year.”

NBC Sports is also expected to make a major push for Big Ten media rights, which could reportedly fetch up to $1.1 billion annually.

After months of speculation, Porsche is entering Formula 1 with one of the competition’s top teams — and claiming a massive stake in its future success.

A new document from Morocco’s Conseil de la Concurrence reveals the German auto manufacturer is acquiring 50% of Red Bull Technology LTD — the subsidiary of the energy drink conglomerate primarily responsible for its F1 operations. Motorsport-Total was the first to report on the press release.

Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Porsche’s main responsibility in the partnership will be to develop power units for Red Bull Racing and Alpha Tauri cars.

Red Bull said that the joint venture was still under discussion, citing FIA’s imminent approval of the 2026 engine changes.

• Motorsport’s governing body is expected to require all F1 power units to run on 100% sustainable fuel, place a larger emphasis on electrical power, and not feature an MGU-H.
• The new regulations are expected to be finalized sometime in August.

Red Bull is partnered with Oracle on a five-year, $500 million title sponsorship deal. It remains to be seen how that will be affected by the changes in 2026.

Volkswagen’s F1 Resurgence

Assuming the partnership goes through, it’ll be a huge return to F1 for Porsche.

The Volkswagen AG subsidiary previously entered a team in the World Championships from 1957 through 1962 and supplied power units to McLaren under the TAG badge from 1983 through 1987.

Another Volkswagen brand — Audi — is rumored to be teaming up with McLaren F1 for 2026.

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners will receive a loan of $505 million from HPS Investment Partners to facilitate its investment in French professional soccer, according to Bloomberg. 

In March, CVC acquired a 13% stake in Ligue 1’s media rights business for $1.5 billion. The newly created commercial subsidiary will market both TV and online media rights for Ligue 1. 

• Some loan proceeds will go to teams in the Ligue de Football Professionnel.
• A portion will be allocated toward amateur leagues. 
• The proceeds will also help the LFP repay a loan from 2020.

Ligue 1’s finances took a hit when broadcast partner MediaPro stopped making payments on its media rights deal worth $877.9 million per year during the 2020-21 season. Since then, Ligue 1 has secured deals with Canal+ and Amazon, but on a split $802 million contract that runs through the 2023-24 season. 

The top-flight soccer league reported $680.4 million in losses during the 2020-21 season. 

Committed to Soccer

CVC’s commitment to Ligue 1 and the LFP marks its second investment in European soccer media rights. Last year, La Liga agreed to sell CVC an 8% stake in the league’s new company in charge of managing media rights for $2.3 billion.

However, the deal has been opposed by several La Liga clubs, the Spanish Football Association, and Real Federación Española de Fútbol.