Kevin Hart Series ‘Fight Night’ Is a Hit, and “the Olympics Are Back,” Comcast President Says
Comcast and its NBCUniversal streamer Peacock are flying high across the board, Comcast president Mike Cavanagh signaled on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference in San Francisco in a session that was live-streamed, he shared that Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, the new limited series starring Kevin Hart, Taraji Henson, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, and more, has become a hit within days. “We launched Fight Night on Thursday night with Kevin Hart and an unbelievable cast,” he said. “And that’s the most watched title, original, in the history of Peacock.”
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Overall, Peacock continues to evolve, Cavanagh said. “We feel very good about what we’ve done over a few short years, where we were going from a standing start when it became clear that we wouldn’t be staying in Hulu,” he said.
The executive also discussed the recent Paris Summer Olympics, which set an advertising record, as an example for how all of Comcast and NBCUniversal’s various businesses and assets can play together successfully, including as a platform to cross-promote films, series and company products.
“We were looking to really bring life back to the Olympics and find new audiences,” Cavanagh told the Goldman Sachs conference. “And we all ended feeling like the Olympics are back.” He said that also proves the value of housing content and distribution assets under the same roof.
The Comcast president on Tuesday also lauded the NBCU theme parks unit as a “phenomenal business,” calling it “a long-term growth and return on capital business.”
Plus, he lauded the NBCU film studio team under Donna Langley for its continuing success, touting it as “the top studio business last year.” He cited such recent successes as Twisters, with Wicked yet to come. “So that’s the flywheel of creating great IP, and Donna and team do a phenomenal job on that side, both in film and studios,” Cavanagh concluded.
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