For Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast Corp., the largest broadcasting and cable company in the world by revenue, 2014 was a great year. There was an overall 6.4% revenue growth, a 6.9% rise in operating cash flow, and the company increased cash returned to shareholders by 64%.
Nothing to worry about, right? Well, the missing ingredient to that impressive statistical review is ensuring a premium customer experience all the time.
Roberts is all too aware of this fact, which he addressed during Tuesday’s fourth-quarter/full-year fiscal earnings conference call.
“In cable, we are aligned around a few critical top priorities, the first is to transform the customer experience,” Roberts said, according to Seeking Alpha. “In short, we want customer service to be our best product. We have not always lived up to that. But if we can reinvent and improve customer service, we can make it easier for our customers to experience what we are confident is the best platform and the best content on the fastest network. We will continue to push the pace of innovation in cable and we will also remain focused on preparation for the integration of Time Warner Cable. We’re excited about the merger and our ability to add value to customers and shareholders through the acquisition. Our integration planning is
on schedule as we continue to work toward regulatory approval.”
Comcast has had a sketchy history in the customer service/customer experience department. Last summer Comcast received negative attention for a customer service call that went wrong and viral in July, as well as being in the spotlight for its proposed $42.5 billion merger deal with Time Warner.
Comcast corporate officials realize customer experience transformation isn’t going to happen overnight. But, the company’s goal is to make it its No. 1 priority.
At NBCUniversal, Roberts pointed to the magnitude of the improvement that has exceeded all expectations and the acquisition has already proven to be one of the best in company history.
“The network maintained its No. 1 ranking in prime time and saw terrific success in The Voice, Blacklist, and Sunday Night Football as well as the highly successful launch of the new Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon,” Roberts said. “And of course, the Sochi Olympics, which spanned our broadcast and cable networks and was highly integrated into our cable technology platforms, really demonstrating the unique capabilities of our combined company and we’re thrilled to have extended our Rights Deal with the International Olympic Committee in a deal that will make NBCUniversal the home to the Olympics through the year 2032.”
Speaking of cable networks, they remain Comcast Corp.’s largest source of operating cash flow at NBCUniversal and demonstrated another year of growth thanks to a diversified portfolio across sports, news, and entertainment. USA and Bravo are both Top 10 networks, with USA ending the year at No. 1 in total viewers for the ninth year in a row, and Comcast successfully launched CNBC Prime.
“There is no doubt the times are changing for cable networks, but we believe our portfolio of channels is well positioned,” he said.