Comcast 2015 Annual Report Download - page 17

video games, and other forms of entertainment, news and information. Our cable networks, broadcast tele-
vision networks and owned local broadcast television stations may compete for viewers’ attention with
subscription video on demand services, some of which have their own high-quality original content.
Our cable networks, broadcast television networks and owned local broadcast television stations compete for
the acquisition of programming and for on-air and creative talent with other cable and broadcast networks,
local television stations and subscription video on demand services. The market for programming is very
competitive, particularly for sports programming, where the cost for such programming is significant.
Our cable networks compete with other cable networks and programming providers for carriage of their pro-
gramming by multichannel video providers and subscription video on demand services. Our broadcast
television networks compete with the other broadcast networks in markets across the United States to
secure affiliations with independently owned television stations, which are necessary to ensure the effective
distribution of broadcast network programming to a nationwide audience.
In addition, our cable networks and broadcast television studio production operations compete with other
production companies and creators of content for the acquisition of story properties, for creative, performing
and technical personnel, and for distribution of, and consumer interest in, their content.
Filmed Entertainment
Our filmed entertainment business competes for audiences for its films and other entertainment content with
other major studios and, to a lesser extent, with independent film producers, as well as with alternative forms
of entertainment. Our competitive position primarily depends on the number of films we produce, their dis-
tribution and marketing success and consumer response. Our filmed entertainment business also competes
to obtain creative, performing and technical talent, including writers, actors, directors and producers, as well
as scripts for films. Our filmed entertainment business also competes with the other major studios and other
producers of entertainment content for the exhibition of its films in theaters and for premium network and
digital distribution of its films.
Theme Parks
Our theme parks business competes with other multi-park entertainment companies. We also compete with
other providers of entertainment, lodging, tourism and recreational activities. In order to maintain the com-
petitiveness of our theme parks, we have invested and continue to invest in existing and new theme park
attractions and infrastructure.
Advertising
Our cable communications business, cable networks, broadcast television networks, and owned local broad-
cast television stations compete for the sale of advertising time with other television networks and stations, as
well as with all other advertising platforms, such as digital, radio and print media. The willingness of adver-
tisers to purchase advertising from us may be adversely affected by lower audience ratings at our cable
networks, broadcast television networks and owned local broadcast television stations. Declines in advertis-
ing revenue also can be caused by increased competition for the leisure time of audiences and audience
fragmentation and from the growing use of technologies such as DVRs and video on demand services, which
give consumers greater flexibility to watch programming on a time-delayed or on-demand basis or to fast-
forward or skip advertisements within programming, and from subscription video on demand services.
Seasonality and Cyclicality
Each of our businesses is subject to seasonal and cyclical variations. See Item 7: Management’s Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and refer to the “Seasonality and Cyclicality”
discussion within that section for additional information.
Comcast 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K 14