Comcast Strengths And Weaknesses
Comcast NBC Universal SWOT Analysis and Discussion Comcast is the largest cable television company and largest internet service provider by a large margin. They pull in almost 75 billion dollars in revenue annually, serve over 22 million customers, yet have still managed to win the world’s worst company twice in a row. There is no denying Comcast’s ability to make money and pull in customers but with a closer look on their internal strengths and weaknesses along with the external movement of the market environment, we can see what Comcast can do to maintain their competitive edge, and how to combat their weaknesses and threats. We chose to focus on four points of interest for each of the four categories as this does not trivialize any
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of the main issues. Comcast’s four main strengths are as follows, the large scale of Comcast itself, as discussed above, the high barrier of entry for competitors coming into the cable and internet provider business, Comcast’s regional control in the many areas it operates in, and the integration of many of Comcast’s businesses, of which include, Hulu, Telemundo, Universal Studios, DreamWorks, and many more. Looking at the other internal category we have weaknesses which include, Comcast’s reputation of not caring about customers, their reliance on older and costly infrastructure to deliver their content and coverage, the growing cost of running a company like Comcast is immense and will only grow, and the high turnover of their employees, especially their telephone center employees. Looking to the business environment that Comcast operates in gives us its opportunities and threats. These external factors are very important to take into account as they effect business quite a lot. Some opportunities that Comcast has are as follows: the growth of alternate means of delivery of content like Hulu, Stream, and Netflix, future growth through acquisitions and expansion opportunities overseas will play a huge part in the coming future for Comcast, the growth of virtual reality users is astounding, something Comcast is already working on but hasn't fully committed to yet. Some threats facing Comcast’s long term survivability are: the struggling market of pay for cable subscriptions in the United States due to cord cutting, regulatory developments currently in the works like net neutrality laws and set top box mandates, loss of workforce in the coming years due to baby boomers and generation Xer's leaving the work force, and competition is fierce and growing, despite the high barrier of entry for those competitors.
Now something very important to look at is how Comcast is leveraging its strengths to use its opportunities and how it should be using those strengths to combat those threats. Comcast is not currently in a position that it needs to think about defense, but it is currently in a place that it needs to think of its long term profitability. What this means is that while Comcast’s revenues are growing, up since last year by 8.3%, and do not show signs of stopping, its strategy must be improved upon if it wants to see that growth. For example, Comcast is currently using its large size and revenue streams to open up Universal Studio parks globally expanding its business overseas without having to invest in utility costs such as laying down wire in an already competitive cable market. Comcast is currently dealing with the effects of conducting by leveraging its streaming services such as Stream and Hulu in order to better serve the needs and wants of it changing customer base. One of its threats is very closely tied with one of its strengths as well, as Comcast has grown over the years it has invested over 100 million dollars since 2006 into influencing local, state, and federal lawmakers into making it harder for competitors to start up in areas that Comcast already operates as well as other corporate interests.
On the other side of the coin is Comcast’s weaknesses and how they are effecting their opportunities and threats.
Comcast’s biggest weakness is its reputation for not caring about customers, they are currently working on this with their net promoter score plan and their goal for 2016 is “to make customer satisfaction our top priority,” but with only 38% of Comcast’s customers willing to recommend them to a friend or family member, its going to be a hard won battle. Millennials are set to be 75% of the work force by 2025, and with millennials being the least likely generation to work for a company that they perceive in a negative light, their already struggling turnover rate is just going to be a bigger problem. Comcast’s reliance on older technology like broadband wires and other forms of delivery will hurt their ability to move overseas in the cable world, but that is not the only thing Comcast is anymore. Comcast’s integration of its businesses and services means that it can simply move the other aspects of its business like its streaming service and its parks globally without much of an issue. Another aspect of Comcast’s reliance on this old technology is its huge running cost. In 2014, capital expenditures in the communications segment grew by 13.9% (on 6.4% revenue growth) over the prior year’s level. This is a cause for concern, especially with the growing competition from AT&T Uverse and Google Fiber, both of which do not rely on these old systems. As Googles and AT&T grow and start to lower their costs with new technology, Comcast’s costs will only grow as the infrastructure continues to age and depreciate. Comcast is not viewed as a consumer focused company and for good reason, on top of their poor reviews and ratings from their customers, they have actively gone out of their way to harm net neutrality and competitors, something that many millennials especially frown upon. With the current ruling by the FCC and its recent ok from the court, Comcast is
looking to losing a lot of money and security if the courts continue to rule that internet is a utility.
Comcast went from 20,000 subscribers in Mississippi to a fortune 50 company while still being family owned. Comcast’s stock continued to rise during the 2008 recession and does not seem to be stopping. Even with Comcast’s seemingly unsurmountable weaknesses and threats, they continue to thrive and to grow. This is due to not only to the company’s employees and strategies, but also to their immense strengths. If Comcast can continue to leverage its strengths and improve upon its weaknesses Comcast will continue to not only be the biggest cable television and internet provider, but they will also continue to be one of the world’s largest and most profitable corporations.
of the main issues. Comcast’s four main strengths are as follows, the large scale of Comcast itself, as discussed above, the high barrier of entry for competitors coming into the cable and internet provider business, Comcast’s regional control in the many areas it operates in, and the integration of many of Comcast’s businesses, of which include, Hulu, Telemundo, Universal Studios, DreamWorks, and many more. Looking at the other internal category we have weaknesses which include, Comcast’s reputation of not caring about customers, their reliance on older and costly infrastructure to deliver their content and coverage, the growing cost of running a company like Comcast is immense and will only grow, and the high turnover of their employees, especially their telephone center employees. Looking to the business environment that Comcast operates in gives us its opportunities and threats. These external factors are very important to take into account as they effect business quite a lot. Some opportunities that Comcast has are as follows: the growth of alternate means of delivery of content like Hulu, Stream, and Netflix, future growth through acquisitions and expansion opportunities overseas will play a huge part in the coming future for Comcast, the growth of virtual reality users is astounding, something Comcast is already working on but hasn't fully committed to yet. Some threats facing Comcast’s long term survivability are: the struggling market of pay for cable subscriptions in the United States due to cord cutting, regulatory developments currently in the works like net neutrality laws and set top box mandates, loss of workforce in the coming years due to baby boomers and generation Xer's leaving the work force, and competition is fierce and growing, despite the high barrier of entry for those competitors.
Now something very important to look at is how Comcast is leveraging its strengths to use its opportunities and how it should be using those strengths to combat those threats. Comcast is not currently in a position that it needs to think about defense, but it is currently in a place that it needs to think of its long term profitability. What this means is that while Comcast’s revenues are growing, up since last year by 8.3%, and do not show signs of stopping, its strategy must be improved upon if it wants to see that growth. For example, Comcast is currently using its large size and revenue streams to open up Universal Studio parks globally expanding its business overseas without having to invest in utility costs such as laying down wire in an already competitive cable market. Comcast is currently dealing with the effects of conducting by leveraging its streaming services such as Stream and Hulu in order to better serve the needs and wants of it changing customer base. One of its threats is very closely tied with one of its strengths as well, as Comcast has grown over the years it has invested over 100 million dollars since 2006 into influencing local, state, and federal lawmakers into making it harder for competitors to start up in areas that Comcast already operates as well as other corporate interests.
On the other side of the coin is Comcast’s weaknesses and how they are effecting their opportunities and threats.
Comcast’s biggest weakness is its reputation for not caring about customers, they are currently working on this with their net promoter score plan and their goal for 2016 is “to make customer satisfaction our top priority,” but with only 38% of Comcast’s customers willing to recommend them to a friend or family member, its going to be a hard won battle. Millennials are set to be 75% of the work force by 2025, and with millennials being the least likely generation to work for a company that they perceive in a negative light, their already struggling turnover rate is just going to be a bigger problem. Comcast’s reliance on older technology like broadband wires and other forms of delivery will hurt their ability to move overseas in the cable world, but that is not the only thing Comcast is anymore. Comcast’s integration of its businesses and services means that it can simply move the other aspects of its business like its streaming service and its parks globally without much of an issue. Another aspect of Comcast’s reliance on this old technology is its huge running cost. In 2014, capital expenditures in the communications segment grew by 13.9% (on 6.4% revenue growth) over the prior year’s level. This is a cause for concern, especially with the growing competition from AT&T Uverse and Google Fiber, both of which do not rely on these old systems. As Googles and AT&T grow and start to lower their costs with new technology, Comcast’s costs will only grow as the infrastructure continues to age and depreciate. Comcast is not viewed as a consumer focused company and for good reason, on top of their poor reviews and ratings from their customers, they have actively gone out of their way to harm net neutrality and competitors, something that many millennials especially frown upon. With the current ruling by the FCC and its recent ok from the court, Comcast is
looking to losing a lot of money and security if the courts continue to rule that internet is a utility.
Comcast went from 20,000 subscribers in Mississippi to a fortune 50 company while still being family owned. Comcast’s stock continued to rise during the 2008 recession and does not seem to be stopping. Even with Comcast’s seemingly unsurmountable weaknesses and threats, they continue to thrive and to grow. This is due to not only to the company’s employees and strategies, but also to their immense strengths. If Comcast can continue to leverage its strengths and improve upon its weaknesses Comcast will continue to not only be the biggest cable television and internet provider, but they will also continue to be one of the world’s largest and most profitable corporations.