Market cap

* For banks, enterprise value is substituted with market cap. Source: Bloomberg Finance L.P.

Performance of the brand

Comcast is the US’s largest cable operator and home internet service provider and its fourth largest home telephone service provider. Its services include the provision of television, broadband and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers across 39 states. It employs over 100,000 people and the CEO, President and Chairman is Brian L Roberts.

This year is rolling out IPv6, the most important development in the web in years, to certain states, such as Michigan

IPv4 is the current system of assigning web addresses but as more and more people come online and and more content is created, the system is rapidly reaching capacity. IPv6 is the updated version of this system, which it is thought will provide effectively unlimited capacity. Comcast is rolling the system out to several states including Michigan.

Offering discounted internet to low income families

Families who live in Comcast service areas and whose children receive free school meals, will be offered internet for $9.95 / month and a voucher of $150 to buy a computer.

Comcast has recently been shown to be the fastest ISP in the US

Netflix tested all the major ISPs in the US and found there was only one that lives up to it’s promise and could stream movies without interruption, and that is Comcast.

There has been criticism of Comcast’s merger with NBC Universal by the arbitrating judge due to antitrust concerns

The main controversy surrounding Comcast in recent months have been anti-trust concerns surrounding its takeover of NBC Universal. The merger created a US$30 billion media giant, which controls not only the production of TV and film, but also how that content is delivered to audiences. In order to gain approval Comcast had to agree to an onerous set of terms which include;

• Increasing the amount of Spanish-language programming available, particularly local news coverage.
• Increasing the amount of children's programming.
• Making affordable, broadband Internet available to low-income households.
• Relinquishing its management stake in online video provider Hulu (though it will retain ownership stake)
• Ensuring that competitors have access to NBCUniversal programming if they had an agreement in place with other service providers
• Honouring the FCC's net neutrality rules, even if the US congress overturned the regulations

The perhaps unprecedented set of conditions would seem a tall order for any corporation, and is even more challenging for a company as subject to as much scrutiny as Comcast. For example the resignation of FFC commissioner Meredith Atwell Baker to take up the position of SVP of government affairs at Comcast caused an outcry among commentators, questioning the ethics of the move.

However the takeover seems to have been a success for Comcast, which has seen a 6 % increase in cable revenue in the second quarter of 2011.

In 2010 it was involved in a lawsuit (which it lost) with DirectTV who Comcast alleged were falsely advertising their NFL coverage as free.

League tables

Comcast appears in the following brand league tables:

Rank 68 in the Global 500 2011.
Rank 57 in the Global 500 2010.
Rank 36 in the Global 500 2009.
Rank 64 in the Global 500 2008.
Rank 56 in the Global 250 2007.