MARKETING AT COMCAST, INC

Comcast has grown from a regional cable provider to the largest provider of cable services in the United States. It has focused on obtaining new subscribers and offering new technology while it has paid less attention to the area of content. The company participates in an industry that provides some monopolistic protection in geographic regions by limiting direct competition, but faces competition from competing technologies such as satellite providers.

Comcast has begun acquiring content assets, such as E! Entertainment Television, but its content holdings are small at this point. In early 2004, the company made an unsolicited bid for Disney, a move that would have greatly expanded Comcast's content as well as introduced the company to entirely new markets in which it has no experience. The initial offer was rebuffed by the Disney board, but indicates that Comcast recognizes the importance of adding content to its ability to provide cable service.

In addition to content, Comcast is also capitalizing on technology and offering new products, such as pay-per-view, video on demand and Internet access, some of which cannot be offered by satellite providers. By positioning itself as a telecommunications provider able to provide phone and Internet service as well as televised entertainment, Comcast may well be positioning itself to succeed against other technologies--such as broadcast television and satellite systems--that can

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y provided digital cable to 7.7 subscribers, high-speed Internet access to 5.3 subscribers and phone service to 1.3 million subscribers. Comcast's market share exceeded ten percent in each of these market segments, with a 54 percent market share for cable and 36 percent market share for digital cable ("2003 10-K Filing," 2004). Recognizing that providing cable service is effective only as long as cable provides a viable alternative to other types of programming, and seeking to diversify its revenue stream, Comcast has invested in content as well as distribution. In addition to providing cable to subscribers, the company also owns a stake in a number of different cable channels, including E! Entertainment Television and the Golf channel. This diversity appears to have benefited the organization in that the company's recent growth has been impressive. In addition to increasing the company's reach across the nation, sales increased to more than $18 billion in 2003 from $8 billion in 2002 and $5.9 billion in 2001. Although the company posted a loss of $274 million in 2002, it realized profits in both 2001 and 2003, posting a record profit of $3.2 billion in 2003 ("2003 10-K Filing," 2004). COMPANY'S POSITIONING STRATEGY Ba

Category: Business - M