Will Netflix Buy NBCUniversal? The Numbers Say Yes, But Not Until 2029
Comcast’s Q2-26 numbers say NBCUniversal is a theme park company with a studio attached
Accrued Interest TLDR: In this article I introduce my long-term prediction that NBCUniversal and Netflix will ultimately end up together. By the numbers, NBCUniversal is a theme park company with a very good studio and a media business that has never stood on its own. Even adding in the British company Sky, the parks are still more than half the earnings. After losing out on Warner Bros., the next best asset on the board is Universal. But the parks cannot be separated from the studio. Netflix does not want NBC or Peacock, nor does it need them. But all-in-all, I bet the Roberts family would trade NBC Universal for Netflix stock tomorrow if the tax code let them. Let’s discuss.
INTRODUCTION
They say, “If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.” Well, today I want to prepare you for what I believe is inevitable post-2029: a combination of NBCUniversal and Netflix. With Warner Bros. off the table, Universal Studios stands as the premier “global IP” asset. As I noted in my Q2-26 Netflix earnings review, Netflix’s superpower is its unmatched ability to extract revenue from content, a skill that continues to improve as evidenced by Q2’s 13% YoY revenue growth against 2% growth in view hours.
The less obvious takeaway? I think Universal Studios must be sold as a package deal with its theme parks. While it may surprise some, the parks segment (not the studio, NBC, or Peacock) consistently pays the bills at NBCUniversal once separated from Comcast. Analysts often overlook the source of a company’s actual profit when handicapping M&A, yet understanding how these business units feed each other is critical.
Before the official pro forma financials arrive, I’ve used public documents to build a preliminary picture.
Fair warning: Comcast recast its segments this year to exclude the January Versant spin-off, while the FY2025 10-K numbers still include those cable channels. While I’ve made several assumptions, my goal is to be directionally accurate, even without perfect data…
1. On the disclosed segments, parks is essentially all of the profit
Here is Content & Experiences, the Media, Studios and Theme Parks segments, on a trailing twelve-month (TTM) basis through Q2 2026, pro forma for the Versant separation ($VSNT).
(You are allowed to disagree with me, but please show your work in the comments!)
Source: Comcast Q1-26 and Q2-26 trending schedules and Q2-26 Form 10-Q. Media revenue is derived as the residual, since Comcast publishes the pro forma total but not the pro forma Media line. LTM = Q3 2025 through Q2 2026. The EBITDA column foots to $3,325 rather than $3,327 because of rounding in Comcast’s own trending schedules.
For the TTM, NBCU theme parks generated a little over $3 billion in EBITDA. Everything else generated roughly $200 million.
Now to be fair…2026 is the first year of the new 11-year NBA rights deal. The Media division is eating a full year of straight-lined rights expenses before revenue catches up.
