MUMBAI: US cable and entertainment major Comcast?s first quarter consolidated revenue increased marginally by 2.9 per cent. Operating cash flow increased by 7.4 per cent and operating income rose by 11.2 per cent.

However revenue for subsidiary NBCUniversal decreased by 2.4 per cent to $5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2013 compared to $5.5 billion in the first quarter of 2012. Excluding $259 million of revenue generated by the broadcast of the NFL?s Super Bowl in the first quarter of 2012, the Q1 2013 revenue increased by 2.4 per cent. Operating Cash Flow increased by 17.2 per cent to $953 million compared to $813 million in the first quarter of 2012, reflecting strong results at Cable Networks, Film and the Theme Parks divisions.

Comcast chairman CEO Brian L Roberts said, "We are off to a solid start in 2013, with strong revenue and cash flow growth and record quarterly free cash flow. Cable?s results highlight revenue growth in every product, led by Video and High-Speed Internet, and overall customer growth, as we continue to effectively balance financial and customer performance. NBCUniversal?s businesses also generated strong first quarter performance, led by Film and Cable Networks. We completed the acquisition of NBCUniversal during the quarter and look forward to continuing to drive innovation and operational excellence to deliver superior entertainment and communications choices for consumers."

For the first quarter of 2013, revenue from the cable networks segment increased by 4.6 per cent to $2.2 billion as compared to the first quarter of 2012, driven by an 8.6 per cent increase in distribution revenue. Ad revenue increased by 2.5 per cent, primarily reflecting price increases, offset by lower ratings, and content licensing and other revenue decreased by 11.9 per cent.

Operating cash flow increased by 6.2 per cent to $859 million compared to $809 million in the first quarter of 2012, reflecting higher revenue and a 2.4 per cent increase in programming and production costs, due to the continued investment in original programming, partially offset by lower sports programming costs compared to last year?s first quarter.

Broadcast Television: For the first quarter of 2013, revenue from the broadcast television segment decreased by 18.5 per cent to $1.5 billion compared to $1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2012. Excluding $259 million of revenue generated by the NFL?s Super Bowl in the first quarter of 2012, revenue decreased by 5.3 per cent, driven by lower primetime ratings at the NBC broadcast network and lower content licensing revenue.

Primarily reflecting the decline in revenue, the broadcast television segment generated an operating cash flow loss of $35 million in the first quarter of 2013 compared to a loss of $14 million in the first quarter of 2012.

Film: For the first quarter of 2013, revenue from the film segment increased by two per cent to $1.2 billion compared to the first quarter of 2012, driven by higher theatrical revenue from the strong box office performance of ?Les Miserables? and the first quarter releases of ?Identity Thief? and ?Mama?, as well as higher content licensing revenue. Operating cash flow increased to $69 million compared to $6 million in the first quarter of 2012, reflecting higher revenue due to improved performance and lower marketing expense due to fewer theatrical releases in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.

Theme Parks: For the first quarter of 2013, revenue from the theme parks segment increased by 12.2 per cent to $462 million compared to $412 million in the first quarter of 2012, driven by higher attendance at the Orlando and Hollywood parks, which benefitted, in part, from the timing of holidays. First quarter operating cash flow increased by 10.3 per cent to $173 million compared to $157 million in the same period last year, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by increased operating costs to support new attractions.

Revenue for cable communications increased by 6.4 per cent to $10.2 billion in the first quarter of 2013 compared to $9.6 billion in the first quarter of 2012, reflecting increases of 8.6 per cent in High-Speed Internet, 3.7 per cent in Video and 27.5 per cent in Business Services. Monthly average total revenue per Video customer increased 8.1% to $155.05, reflecting rate adjustments, an increasing number of residential customers taking multiple products and a higher contribution from Business Services.

Combined Video, High-Speed Internet and Voice Customers increased by 583,000 in the first quarter of 2013, a 3.2% increase in net additions compared to first quarter 2012, reflecting growth in High-Speed Internet and Voice customers. As of March 31, 2013, Video, High-Speed Internet and Voice customers totaled 51.9 million, an increase of 1.5 million or three per cent over last year?s first quarter.

MUMBAI: CBS CEO Les Moonves said he expects the media company to expand content license distribution agreements with Netflix and other subscription video-on-demand services.

Talking at the UBS Media conference, he said that demand for high quality content is growing as cable networks, and overseas distributors try to satisfy subscribers.

"We?re looking at a variety of ways to get paid from things that truly didn?t exist. The world has changed drastically the last few years. We can get paid for a new programme 12 different ways. Five years ago, it was one or two.?

Moonves also said that weaker ratings for the new TV season are due mostly to special factors and measurement systems that don?t fully capture audiences on new platforms.