Comcast plans new theme park in Florida as cable-TV business slumps

Florida officials and Comcast Corp. CEO Brian Roberts announced plans on Thursday for a big expansion of the Universal theme park operations in the Orlando, Fla., area with a new park expected to employ about 14,000 workers.

The current park employs about 25,000 workers.

Comcast did not disclose a timeline for the project or say how much would be invested. The company said that its Universal unit has agreed to finance $160 million in road extensions to open an area for Epic Universe.

The Philadelphia-based company has faced deep cable-TV subscriber losses as people look to cut their cord and cable bills, opting for streaming services instead. Looking for growth, Comcast has focused on high-speed internet services, theme parks, and global markets.

“Our new park represents the single-largest investment Comcast NBCUniversal has made in its theme park business and in Florida overall,” Roberts said in a statement. “It reflects the tremendous excitement we have for the future of our theme park business and for our entire company’s future in Florida.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was among those who participated in the announcement.

Epic Universe will include hotels, shops, and restaurants, in addition to entertainment attractions. The new park will be located within a 750-acre site.

The highly profitable theme park business has boomed for Comcast. In the Philadelphia company’s recently reported second-quarter earnings, theme parks comprised about 18 percent of revenues in its NBCUniversal division but 24 percent of earnings.

Steve Burke, the head of NBCUniversal, said on a July 25 conference call that “we continue to love the [theme park] business and think it fits very well with our animated movie business and other things we do.” Universal competes with the Walt Disney Co. and SeaWorld in Florida.

In addition to the United States, Comcast is investing into a theme park in China.