Comcast 2012 Annual Report Download - page 35

Table of Contents
Weak economic conditions may have a negative impact on our businesses.
Weak economic conditions in the United States and internationally, including a weak U.S. housing market, persisted during 2012. A
substantial portion of our revenue comes from customers whose spending patterns may be affected by prevailing economic
conditions. A continued or further decline in economic conditions, or an increase in price levels generally due to inflationary
pressures, could adversely affect demand for any of our products and services and have a negative impact on our results of
operations. For example, customers may reduce the level of cable services to which they subscribe, or may discontinue subscribing
to one or more of our cable services. This risk may be increased by the expanded availability of free or lower cost competitive
services, such as Internet video streaming, or substitute services, such as wireless Internet devices and smartphones. Weak
economic conditions also may have a negative impact on the advertising revenue of our cable communications, cable networks and
broadcast television businesses. Weak economic conditions could also reduce prices that multichannel video providers pay for our
cable networks’
programming and have reduced and could continue to reduce the performance of our theatrical and DVD releases in
our filmed entertainment business and attendance and spending in our theme parks business. Weak economic conditions and
turmoil in the global financial markets may also impair the ability of third parties to satisfy their obligations to us. Further, any
disruption in the global financial markets may affect our ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms. If these weak economic
conditions continue or deteriorate, our businesses may be adversely affected.
A decline in advertising expenditures or changes in advertising markets could negatively impact our businesses.
Our cable communications, cable networks and broadcast television businesses derive substantial revenue from the sale of
advertising on a variety of platforms, and a decline in advertising expenditures could negatively impact our results of operations.
Declines can be caused by the economic prospects of specific advertisers or industries, by increased competition for the leisure time
of audiences and audience fragmentation, by the growing use of new technologies, or by the economy in general, any of which may
cause advertisers to alter their spending priorities based on these or other factors. In addition, advertisers’
willingness to purchase
advertising from us may be adversely affected by lower audience ratings. Advertising sales and rates also are dependent on
audience measurement and could be negatively affected by changes in audience measurement methodologies. For example, newer
methods of viewing content (such as delayed viewing on DVRs or viewing content on computers, tablets or smartphones) might not
be counted in audience measurements or may generate less, if any, revenue than traditional distribution methods, which could have
an adverse effect on our advertising revenue. Further, natural disasters, wars, acts of terrorism or other significant adverse news
events could lead to a reduction in advertising expenditures as a result of uninterrupted news coverage and general economic
uncertainty. Reductions in advertising expenditures could adversely affect our businesses.
NBCUniversal’
s success depends on consumer acceptance of its content, which is difficult to predict, and its businesses
may be adversely affected if its content fails to achieve sufficient consumer acceptance or our costs to create or acquire
content increase.
Most of NBCUniversal’
s businesses create and acquire media and entertainment content, the success of which depends
substantially on consumer tastes and preferences that change in often unpredictable ways. The success of these businesses
depends on our ability to consistently create, acquire, market and distribute cable networks and broadcast television programming,
filmed entertainment, theme park attractions and other content that meet the changing preferences of the broad domestic and
international consumer market. We have invested, and will continue to invest, substantial amounts in our content, including in the
production of original content on our cable networks and broadcast television networks, in our films and for theme park attractions,
before learning the extent to which it would earn consumer acceptance.
Comcast 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K
32