NBCUniversal boss Jeff Shell is bullish on the economy.
“There’s a drumbeat in the market,” the CEO told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin at the Cannes Lions festival on Wednesday. “There’s not a slowing per se.”
The exec said that two leading economic indicators in NBCUniversal’s business — namely the theme parks business and the advertising business — are not showing signs that we are headed towards a recession.
“Theme parks are going gangbusters,” Shell said of NBCU’s Universal Studios parks. “Hotel bookings are through the roof.”
In terms of advertising, the picture is a little more mixed, he noted.
Shell was in good spirits after a late night at the the Medialink and iHeartMedia dinner at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Tuesday.
Shell highlighted some positives for his company, including its streaming service, Peacock.Virginia Sherwood/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images“This is my first time [at Cannes Lions],” he said. “It’s awesome. It feels like a party here. It [the ad market] feels pretty upbeat.”
Shell also highlighted some positives for his company, including its streaming service, Peacock, which is ad-supported, as well as an abbreviated theatrical window for movies.
During the pandemic, NBCU-owned Universal Pictures led the charge in reducing the time that movies would remain in theaters before appearing on streaming.
Pre-pandemic, the window was 90 days. Now it’s just 17 days for Universal Pictures, the studio behind such franchises as “Fast & Furious,” “Jurassic Park” and “Jason Bourne.”
This is Jeff Shell’s first time at Cannes Lions.Erik MessoriAlthough Peacock was late to streaming and trails more seasoned media giants like Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max, Shell touted the service’s TV and movie content, including Bravo’s various franchises including “Real Housewives” and “Below Deck.”
“Everything Andy Cohen touches turns to gold,” he concluded.
