Comcast Corp., owners of the Flyers, 76ers and two
Philadelphia sports arenas, "lost more than twice as much
money in its fourth quarter as Wall Street analysts had
expected, and blamed the losses yesterday on the cost of
starting a new cellular-type phone venture" (PHILADELPHIA
INQUIRER, 2/22). For the year, Comcast said its net loss
widened 22% to $53.5M, or $.21 a share, from $43.9M, or $.18
a share. Cash flow rose 19% to $1.21B from $1.02B. Revenue
rose 20% to $4.04B from $3.36B (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/24).
Cablevision Systems Corp.'s fourth quarter and year-end net
revenues were $359.5M and $1.3B, respectively (CABLE WORLD,
2/24)....In Indianapolis, Bill Koenig writes under the
header: "To Increase Revenue, Colts Must Corral Additional
Support From Corporations." Koenig: "Executives also say
the Colts will need to market themselves to small- and
medium-sized companies." Colts President Jim Irsay said the
team "already has boosted marketing efforts" by increasing
its sales staff and trying to do more group ticket sales
(INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS, 2/22).....Dan Garcia of the Newark
STAR-LEDGER writes on the Nets under the header: "Owners
Clean Foul Air Over The Swamp." Garcia: "After two decades
of infighting, penny pinching and being regarded as the
NBA's worst run franchise, the Secaucus Seven cleaned up
their act after David Stern delivered a finger-wagging
reproach last summer. ... owners have loosened their purse
strings enough that they will lose more than $3 million in
operating costs this season -- a departure from their usual
goal of breaking even" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 2/23).
