Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) said it has written down the value of Sky by a quarter as the cost of living crisis is taking its toll on the pay-TV broadcaster.
Brian Roberts, Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s billionaire owner bought Sky for £30bn in 2018 but said yesterday it had written £7.4bn off its book value due to lower cash flow assumptions because of the squeeze on household incomes across Europe.
Sky's customer numbers rose in the latest quarter with around 320,000 new customers signed up, though how many satellite users, historically the most lucrative for the broadcaster, was not disclosed.
Sky’s third-quarter sales fell 14.7% to US$4.3bn as the strength of the dollar also affected the numbers on translation.
Europe's football seasons start in the third quarter, while Game of Throne's prequel House of the Dragon also did well.
Underlying profits for the quarter fell by 15.5% to US$701mln.
Roberts said Comcast and Sky remained in an “enviable strategic and financial position”.
Comcast itself posted revenues 1.5% lower at US$29.9bn in the three months ending September 30, while losses of US$614mln on US streaming division Peacock restricted the growth in underlying profits to US9.5bn, a 5.9% rise.