Theme parks, ad lift drive Comcast revenue higher

Comcast is riding high from the reopening of its theme parks. The media giant reported Thursday that quarterly revenue at its amusement parks jumped eight-fold from a year ago when stay-at-home orders crippled the business.

That rebound, along with higher ad sales, pumped up Comcast’s total revenue more than 20%, beating analysts’ estimates.

As businesses loosened their wallets after a year of slashed marketing budgets, Comcast’s ad sales rose by nearly a third.

Comcast, which is also the largest cable TV operator in the U.S., lost fewer subscribers than expected as it pushed its digital platforms. It has been using the Olympic Games to try to boost subscribers for its Peacock streaming service.

Revenue also rose at its studios business, which had earlier been hammered by theater closures and production delays.

Comcast shares, which have outperformed those of rival Disney this year, rose in early trading Thursday.