May 18, 2021

What kind of animation does Comcast own-

A continuing series in which we map out what major corporations own in terms of characters, studios, and distribution platforms.

This week's company is Comcast Corporation, the telecom titan that also has a major presence in media and entertainment, thanks to its ownership of NBCUniversal and Sky. The company owns Hollywood icon Universal Pictures, major animation studios Dreamworks and Illumination, a portfolio of streamers and broadcasters, a library of famous animation characters, and more.

What follows is a list of animation-related companies/divisions and content Comcast owns or co-owns, compiled to the best of our knowledge. This, and future entries in the series, will be updated as new information becomes available. In earlier entries in the series, we explored the animation holdings of Fox Corporation and Sony Group Corporation.

Universal Pictures, one of Hollywood's “Big Five” film studios. It owns animation giants Dreamworks and Illumination, whose films it releases. All the production and distribution units listed below are under the studio's umbrella.

Mr. Magoo, Fat Albert, Gerald McBoing Boing, Crusader Rabbit, Underdog, Felix the Cat . . . the list of classic characters owned by Comcast goes on and on. Not to mention new characters and concepts created by Dreamworks Animation and Illumination. Many decades ago, Universal Pictures produced theatrical shorts through Walter Lantz, so Comcast also own vintage Lantz stars like Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda, Wally Walrus, and Chilly Willy. And not only that – Comcast owns hundreds of theatrical cartoons created by Paramount between 1950-1962, and has rights to Paramount characters like Casper, Baby Huey, Herman and Katnip, and Little Audrey. Alongside the Walt Disney Company and AT&T (which operates Warnermedia), Comcast owns one of the deepest libraries of cartoon characters.

Peacock, a streaming service launched by NBCUniversal in 2020. It is home to a big chunk of the conglomerate's content library, and also has originals, including animated series like Cleopatra in Space and new Curious George episodes. Peacock's animation strategy remains unclear - the emphasis so far is on kids - but the streamer is likely to get high-profile exclusives produced by its sister animation studios (see above), as well as creators with whom NBCUniversal has deals, like Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.

Universal Kids, a pay-tv channel dedicated to youth programming. It airs a lot of animated content, much of it from Dreamworks.

Syfy, a genre-oriented cable channel with a strong adult animation offering in the form of late-night programming block TZGZ. Its original programming includes the series Wild Life and Devil May Care.

Sky Group, a U.K.-based telecom and media conglomerate with a major presence in Europe. It airs a lot of animation across its pay-tv channels and streaming service Now: last year, it signed a long-term deal with Dreamworks for customers in the U.K. and Ireland. The company is also increasingly investing in original content, including animated titles like the film Riverdance: The Animated Adventure. Unlike the other subsidiaries in this article, Sky is owned by Comcast directly, not through NBCUniversal.

(Amid Amidi contributed research to this piece.)