Menu

$CMSCA makes Harry Potter the champion of Content is King thematic

Beginning all the way back in 1994 with its original investment in The Golf Channel, followed by taking a controlling stake in QVC the following year (which it eventually sold to Liberty Media for a cool $7.4 billion profit), Comcast (CSMCSA) has a history of using its muscle and foresight to secure the fuel that keeps consumers watching — content.

What’s made Comcast one of the darlings of our Content is King investing thematic is that long ago it recognized the power of content to keep customers continuing to fork over the money to pay their ever-increasing monthly cable bills. Of course things kicked into high gear in with its deal with General Electric to create what became NBCUniversal and the TV, movies and music that came with it, as well as Universal Studios theme parks.

Keeping with that pattern, the announcement that Comcast-owned Warner Brothers studios has acquired the commercial TV rights to the Harry Potter franchise — past and future releases — adds a powerful new wand to its lineup. How and where people will be watching the Wizarding world in the emerging chord-cutting world remains to be seen. At the end of the day however, Content is King, and we know that people will always seek out, and even pay for, what keeps them engaged and entertained. No franchise other than Star Wars has proven that more than J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter.

In a wide-ranging seven-year deal with Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. that takes effect in 2018, the Comcast Corp.-owned media company will obtain commercial television rights to the eight “Harry Potter” movies, which will air mainly on the USA and Syfy channels.NBCUniversal also will get rights to the coming “Fantastic Beasts” franchise from “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, and will be able to use the “Harry Potter” and “Fantastic Beasts” source material at several of its Universal theme parks in conjunction with its hugely popular “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” attraction.

Source: NBCUniversal Places Big Bet on ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Fantastic Beasts’ – WSJ

About the Author

Chris Broussard
I'm the Co-Founder and President of Tematica Research and editor of Thematic Signals, which aims to uncover confirming data points and items to watch for our list of investing themes. Whether its a news item, video clip, or company commentary, we've included this full list of items literally "ripped from the headlines." I have been involved in financial services marketing and publishing for over 20 years – having held senior level positions with financial publishers, financial services corporations and providing marketing support and consulting services to financial institutions and independent financial advisors. My background in digital marketing, financial services and consumer research provides me with a unique perspective on how to uncover the underlying proof points that are driving the themes our Chief Investment Officer Chris Versace utilizes in our various Tematica publications.

Comments are closed.