Latest news with #Comcast
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Comcast Stock (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Slips Despite New Advertising Shift
Communications giant Comcast (CMCSA) is not the kind of operation to leave money on the table. So when it heard that a fairly large bloc of advertisers would be willing to spend more money if there were a way to better connect ad exposure to certain conditions, Comcast got right after it. Oddly enough, this was not good enough for some shareholders, who sent Comcast shares down fractionally in Wednesday afternoon's trading. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter A new project, in conjunction with Marpipe and Mastercard (MA), is going to bring a set of new tools to advertisers' hands. With 63% of advertisers in a Comcast Advertising study noting that they would spend more if there was '…more attribution connecting TV ad exposure to specific consumer actions or purchases.' Comcast needed to hear no more, and got to work. Now, Comcast advertisers will have access to new tools, including the Comcast Media Solution feature, which now has support from Mastercard to allow access to 'beta testing sales lift' using a range of categories from automotive to home services. It is, essentially, a change in the way we look at advertising performance on television. Plus, many of these features—which were formerly only available to large-scale national advertisers —will now make their way into the local market. 'Personalized, shoppable ads' also become more available, which should produce better outcomes for advertisers. Given the fragile state of linear television viewership these days, Comcast needs to get more out of the bit of viewership it has left. Pushing Digital With Kids Meanwhile, Comcast is also eager to help the next generation of digital pioneers get started, and is putting money behind that notion. It gave a $20,000 grant to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware, which will be put to the 'My Future' education program to enhance digital skills in the youth served therein. Given that there are over 40 such clubs in Delaware, the grant might not exactly reach very far. But the Boys and Girls Clubs were glad to get it all the same, with executive director of the Western Sussex Branch Jermane Duncan noting, 'Comcast understands the critically important role that digital skills play in accelerating career opportunities. This grant helps set our youth up for success both in and out of the classroom, and will strengthen our ability to support the next generation of leaders.' Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CMCSA stock based on nine Buys, 10 Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 8.77% loss in its share price over the past year, the average CMCSA price target of $41.44 per share implies 20.52% upside potential. Disclosure
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Disney and Comcast's AI Lawsuit May Open a Pandora's Box
The ongoing debate over generative artificial intelligence — particularly when such use conflicts with trademarks and copyright law — came to a head last week in what could be one of the most significant lawsuits in determining the future of the entertainment industry. The co-plaintiffs are two of the most powerful companies in the business: the Walt Disney Co. and Comcast Corp. The defendant is Midjourney Inc., a generative AI startup that the media giants are accusing of copyright infringement. The lawsuit could prove a fascinating feat of Hollywood needle-threading, in which these powerful companies attempt to separate unacceptable and acceptable generative AI. It's a distinction that appears mostly rooted in what costs them money versus what saves it.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NBCU Veteran Jessica Kurdali is Versant's New SVP, Talent Strategy
Jessica Kurdali, who has supervised news talent relations for years for NBCUniversal's news properties, will jump to Versant, the cable-networks operations that parent Comcast is spinning off, where she will oversee talent strategy across all platforms, including news, entertainment and sports. More to come… More from Variety NBC Plans 'Today' Fan Festival With Events Scheduled for Fall Trump Military Parade May Not Get Much Coverage on CBS, NBC, ABC Welcome, Tom Llamas, to TV's Never-Ending Evening-News Battle Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
A lioness, a godfather, and a new elementary school: Why is Stoughton fighting with its cable access channel?
While voters eventually approved the new school in April, Lyons's shows leading up to the decision are part of a local controversy that continues to simmer. The local access station has sued the town and its leaders in federal court, alleging that they violated its civil rights and the shared access agreement by trying to interfere with its operations because it dislikes critical programming. Stoughton officials have denied the allegations, arguing that it's SMAC that violated the access agreement — a document that allows SMAC to record and air government meetings. Advertisement The town says the station exhibited an undue political bias against funding for the new school — including by airing programs such as 'A Lioness & You on the Watch' and 'The Stoughton Godfather,' a local talk show that begins with 90-year-old host Peter Ventresco photoshopped into iconic images from 'The Godfather.' Local officials also said the station has failed to provide the select board with updates as required in the agreement. Advertisement The lawsuit raises thorny First Amendment questions about the relationship between a public access channel and its local government at a time when such organizations are at greater risk of shutting down, thanks in large part to lost revenue as Founded in 2009, SMAC is funded all but entirely by cable fees received by the town, thanks to laws that require cable companies such as Comcast and Verizon to pay for public access programming in exchange for operating in local communities. It is an independent nonprofit and is required by federal law to be apolitical and open to all viewpoints. SMAC had a budget of $467,000 last year. The current feud traces back to an earlier, failed vote for the school proposal in June 2024. The new school is estimated to cost a total of $113 million — roughly $47 million of which will come from state grants — which required residents to vote on a debt exclusion. Opponents said the project will put an even greater strain on residents who are already struggling to keep up, while supporters argued that the proposal is the best and cheapest option for its aging schools. The real breaking point came after residents voted down the initial proposal, which prompted Town Manager Tom Calter to form a working group of residents. They produced a detailed report about the project ahead of the revote this year. Advertisement 'I find it easy to get information out,' Calter said. 'The problem is that factual information has to compete with misinformation.' Calter and other supporters of the school proposal said that opponents didn't characterize the project accurately, claiming, for instance, that the project did not include the costs of tearing down one of the existing elementary schools and building a new road and bridge. Lyons, treasurer of the Stoughton No More Tax Hikes political committee that opposed the proposal, said that her critics were misunderstanding the group's arguments. 'Saying that I'm full of misinformation? It's preposterous,' Lyons said. When SMAC tried to cover the second meeting of the Calter-appointed working group, a member told SMAC to leave, despite the meeting being open to the public. Calter said the meeting didn't have to be recorded because it wasn't subject to open meeting law. 'Video recording or live streaming the meetings would be contrary to the mission of the working group,' Calter wrote in a public letter at the time, adding that he was worried that clips without context would be released before the final report. The move alarmed SMAC, which sued the town just days after residents approved the school proposal in April, alleging that Calter and Select Board members Steve Cavey, and Joseph Mokrisky were not just trying to hide opposition to the school project but also actively trying to steer SMAC's programming. The station also alleged that Select Board members intimidated SMAC staff and had previously tried to gain influence over the station's operations. Advertisement 'SMAC is under a duty to be independent, and it is independent,' said Joseph Zoppo, an attorney representing the media organization. Town officials denied that they tried to steer programming but argued that SMAC needs to remain unbiased. 'We want them to be able to broadcast ideas, even ones that we don't agree with,' Cavey said. 'But what we do need from them is to be able to take that role seriously.' Turning SMAC away from the meeting also troubled some residents, other officials, and station hosts, including Lyons. She filed an open meeting law complaint with the state attorney general's office, but the office did not find that Stoughton violated the law. 'How dare the town manager not allow SMAC to videotape those working groups so that the working public, or anyone for that matter, could then go to SMAC and watch it at their own convenience,' Lyons said in an interview. 'They're the ones spreading misinformation and outright lies.' Crossover between local politics and SMAC helped fuel the town's concerns that the station has a political bent. Lyons and David Lurie, who up until last month was a SMAC board member, advocated against the school proposal and serve on the town's finance committee. SMAC board chair Bob Mullen is the town moderator. 'I'll never argue what SMAC puts up there,' Calter said. 'But it's pretty easy to argue that they had their thumb on the public policy scale with respect to this project.' Calter singled out the programs from Lyons and Ventresco, the latter of whom he called a 'cynic' who 'does no homework.' Mullen and Lurie declined to comment and referred the Globe to SMAC's attorneys, who said SMAC board members don't make editorial decisions, that the station aired plenty of pro-school programming, and that a lot of people in town hold positions at multiple institutions. Advertisement Ventresco said, 'I never lie, I put the truth out,' and said a lot of misinformation comes from the town. He added that he is supportive of the outgoing and incoming superintendents in town and supports a new school, just not the one voters passed. The outsized attention on SMAC comes as there are few other sources of information in town. The local newspaper, the Stoughton Journal, was combined with neighboring weekly papers in 2019, and the paper stopped printing in 2021, when its coverage went fully online at Gannett's Wicked Local website, a spokesperson said. As the fight between SMAC and Stoughton charges on, some residents want permanent change to what they see as too much overlap and dysfunction in town government and at SMAC. Others point to the difficulty in getting independent and reliable information. 'It's not like it used to be back in the day. People could get information,' said Mark Hausseman, 77, a retired Stoughton resident who the SMAC board tapped in 2020 to evaluate a former station manager. 'I think that's one of the problems.' Aidan Ryan can be reached at
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Comcast Shareholders Reject Proposal for Independent Chair
Comcast CMCSA -0.22%decrease; red down pointing triangle shareholders have voted against a proposal to curb Chairman and Chief Executive Brian Roberts's power by installing an independent chair on the company's board. The National Legal and Policy Center, a stock-owning conservative think tank, previously floated the pitch to have the board chaired by an independent director. President Trump regularly criticizes NBC and MSNBC, which are owned by Comcast, and has repeatedly lashed out at Roberts personally.
