Note 18: Financial Data by Business Segment

We present our operations in one reportable business segment for Cable Communications and four reportable business segments for NBCUniversal. The Cable Networks, Broadcast Television, Filmed Entertainment and Theme Parks segments comprise the NBCUniversal businesses and are collectively referred to as the NBCUniversal segments. Our financial data by reportable business segment is presented in the tables below.

(a) For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, Cable Communications segment revenue was derived from the following sources:

Subscription revenue received from customers who purchase bundled services at a discounted rate is allocated proportionally to each service based on the individual service’s price on a stand-alone basis.

For each of 2015, 2014 and 2013, 2.8% of Cable Communications revenue was derived from franchise and other regulatory fees.

(b) Beginning in 2014, Fandango, our movie ticketing and entertainment business that was previously presented in our Cable Networks segment, is now presented in the Filmed Entertainment segment to reflect the change in our management reporting presentation. Due to immateriality, prior period amounts have not been adjusted.

(c) The revenue and operating costs and expenses associated with our broadcast of the 2015 Super Bowl were reported in our Broadcast Television segment. The revenue and operating costs and expenses associated with our broadcast of the 2014 Sochi Olympics were reported in our Cable Networks and Broadcast Television segments.

(d) As disclosed in Note 11, we changed our method of accounting for a contractual obligation that involves an interest in the revenue of certain theme parks. As a result of the change, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015, amounts payable based on current period revenue are presented in operating costs and expenses. Amounts paid through the third quarter of 2015 were included in other income (expense), net in our consolidated statement of income. For segment reporting purposes, we have adjusted periods prior to the fourth quarter of 2015 to reflect management reporting presentation for this expense on a consistent basis for all periods in the Theme Parks segment, which resulted in an offsetting adjustment in NBCUniversal Eliminations. Therefore, we have reduced our Theme Parks segment operating income before depreciation and amortization and operating income by $63 million, $72 million and $61 million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively, while corresponding amounts have been reflected in NBCUniversal Eliminations to reconcile to consolidated operating income.

(e) NBCUniversal Headquarters and Other activities include costs associated with overhead, allocations, personnel costs and headquarter initiatives.

(f) Included in Eliminations are transactions that our segments enter into with one another. The most common types of transactions are the following:

• our Cable Networks and Broadcast Television segments generate revenue by selling programming to our Cable Communications segment, which represents a substantial majority of the revenue elimination amount

• our Cable Communications segment generates revenue by selling advertising and by selling the use of satellite feeds to our Cable Networks segment

• our Filmed Entertainment and Broadcast Television segments generate revenue by licensing content to our Cable Networks segment

• our Cable Communications segment receives incentives offered by our Cable Networks segment in connection with its distribution of the Cable Networks’ content that are recorded as a reduction to programming expenses

(g) Revenue from customers located outside of the United States, primarily in Europe and Asia, in 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $5.8 billion, $4.4 billion and $4.8 billion, respectively. No single customer accounted for a significant amount of revenue in any period.

(h) We use operating income (loss) before depreciation and amortization, excluding impairment charges related to fixed and intangible assets and gains or losses from the sale of assets, if any, as the measure of profit or loss for our operating segments. This measure eliminates the significant level of noncash depreciation and amortization expense that results from the capital-intensive nature of certain of our businesses and from intangible assets recognized in business combinations. Additionally, it is unaffected by our capital structure or investment activities. We use this measure to evaluate our consolidated operating performance and the operating performance of our operating segments and to allocate resources and capital to our operating segments. It is also a significant performance measure in our annual incentive compensation programs. We believe that this measure is useful to investors because it is one of the bases for comparing our operating performance with that of other companies in our industries, although our measure may not be directly comparable to similar measures used by other companies. This measure should not be considered a substitute for operating income (loss), net income (loss) attributable to Comcast Corporation, net cash provided by operating activities, or other measures of performance or liquidity we have reported in accordance with GAAP.

Note 17: Financial Data by Business Segment

We present our operations in four reportable business segments: Cable Networks, Broadcast Television, Filmed Entertainment and Theme Parks. Our financial data by reportable business segment is presented in the tables below.

• Beginning in 2014, Fandango, our movie ticketing and entertainment business that was previously presented in our Cable Networks segment, is now presented in the Filmed Entertainment segment to reflect the change in our management reporting presentation. Due to immateriality, prior period amounts have not been adjusted.
• The revenue and operating costs and expenses associated with our broadcast of the 2015 Super Bowl were reported in our Broadcast Television segment. The revenue and operating costs and expenses associated with our broadcast of the 2014 Sochi Olympics were reported in our Cable Networks and Broadcast Television segments.
• As disclosed in Note 11, we changed our method of accounting for a contractual obligation that involves an interest in the revenue of certain theme parks. As a result of the change, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015, amounts payable based on current period revenue are presented in operating costs and expenses. Amounts paid through the third quarter of 2015 were included in other income (expense), net in our consolidated statement of income. For segment reporting purposes, we have adjusted periods prior to the fourth quarter of 2015 to reflect management reporting presentation for this expense on a consistent basis for all periods in the Theme Parks segment, which resulted in an offsetting adjustment in Eliminations. Therefore, we have reduced our Theme Parks segment operating income before depreciation and amortization and operating income by $63 million, $72 million and $61 million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively, while corresponding amounts have been reflected in Eliminations to reconcile to consolidated operating income.
• Headquarters and Other activities include costs associated with overhead, allocations, personnel costs and corporate initiatives.
• Eliminations are transactions that our segments enter into with one another, which consisted primarily of the licensing of film and television content from our Filmed Entertainment and Broadcast Television segments to our Cable Networks segment.
• No single customer accounted for a significant amount of revenue in any period.
• We use operating income (loss) before depreciation and amortization, excluding impairment charges related to fixed and intangible assets and gains or losses from the sale of assets, if any, as the measure of profit or loss for our operating segments. This measure eliminates the significant level of noncash amortization expense that results from intangible assets recognized in connection with the joint venture transaction and other business combinations. Additionally, it is unaffected by our capital structure or investment activities. We use this measure to evaluate our consolidated operating performance and the operating performance of our operating segments and to allocate resources and capital to our operating segments. It is also a significant performance measure in our annual incentive compensation programs. We believe that this measure is useful to investors because it is one of the bases for comparing our operating performance with that of other companies in our industries, although our measure may not be directly comparable to similar measures used by other companies. This measure should not be considered a substitute for operating income (loss), net income (loss) attributable to NBCUniversal, net cash provided by operating activities, or other measures of performance or liquidity we have reported in accordance with GAAP.
• We operate primarily in the United States, but also in select international markets primarily in Europe and Asia. The table below summarizes revenue by geographic location.