No beating around the bush—Brian Roberts had already done his homework.
"Comcast's cable TV business has stretched as far as it can go. The delivery network needs a ton of content to keep it full, especially video-on-demand through broadband, which relies on a massive library of shows and movies."
"Wait a sec!" Dunn cut him off, eyebrows shooting up. "Video-on-demand? Brian, are you serious?"
Brian Roberts gave him a knowing look and grinned. "You don't think the internet's the future? Haven't you invested in a few dot-coms yourself?"
Dunn paused, then chuckled. "Brian, you're moving way too fast! Integrating AT&T's core assets after that acquisition's gotta take at least a year, right? And you've still got energy to dip into the content game?"
Brian shrugged casually. "You've gotta plan ahead. Isn't that your whole business vibe?"
"Alright, fair enough. What's your play?"
Dunn smirked, already piecing it together. Brian wouldn't be chatting him up about this unless his big strategy somehow tied back to Dunn.
Brian leaned in, voice low. "Disney's movies, ABC's news, and ESPN's sports—it's the perfect combo to feed Comcast's needs."
Bingo!
In Dunn's past life, Comcast made a bold move in 2004, swooping in to bid for Disney during the chaos of Michael Eisner's ousting.
Now, thanks to Dunn's meddling, Eisner's seat was wobbling by 2001. Roy Disney, the number-two guy, was already rallying support to boot him out.
Dunn had worked his tail off to throw Disney into disarray, and here was Comcast, ready to swoop in and snatch it up. That didn't sit right with Dunn's plans!
Disney's assets? Dunn had his eye on those too—especially Disney Animation and ESPN!
He smirked faintly. "Brian, no offense, but Disney's like the 'British royalty' of media. Comcast? More like the 'new money' kid on the block. I don't see this acquisition panning out."
Brian didn't flinch. "Disney's got history, sure, but is its foundation deeper than AT&T's? Don't forget—Comcast's got cash flow for days!"
Tarzan TV's North American installs hovered around 45 million. Every set-top box required a $20 deposit from households—that's $900 million in cash, straight up!
Plus, cable operators typically settled accounts every six months. That meant Comcast was sitting on "borrowed" funds from other companies—like Tarzan TV's subscription fees, currently parked in Comcast's accounts.
And Comcast's reach wasn't just Tarzan—it covered 30% of the U.S. market!
IP fees in the States were sky-high, and TV was a major household expense. Beyond operating and subscription costs, tons of content came with extra paywalls:
Educational and training videos;
Tyson boxing matches, with pay-per-view fees once hitting $100 a pop;
Smaller events—like niche sports with no broadcast deal—where fans had to shell out absurd amounts to watch.
Stats showed North American households averaged $80 a month on TV entertainment.
That spending level? Unique to North America, nowhere else!
So, let's crunch the numbers: 1.1 billion households in North America, Comcast with nearly 30% market share, $80 per household monthly, over six months…
Half a year in, Comcast was holding onto roughly $16 billion in "custodial" cash!
Sure, it was technically debt, but for a company, juggling funds like that—robbing Peter to pay Paul—was standard playbook stuff.
Five lids for ten teapots? For a sharp operator, that's just opportunity!
Dunn had busted his hump to mess with Disney—he wasn't about to let Brian Roberts waltz in and scoop up the prize. He frowned. "Disney's brand value and earning potential are massive. Cash alone won't cut it."
Brian grinned. "Easy—tank the stock price! You've been crushing Disney in movies for two years now."
Dunn shook his head. "That's not on me. ABC's been dragging Disney down with its lousy performance."
"You're too modest! Disney's stock slide? I'd say half of it's thanks to you!" Brian tossed out a compliment, then dropped his voice. "Team up with me. You hammer Disney's movies, I hit their TV side. I guarantee within two years, their shareholders will crack!"
Dunn laughed coldly to himself.
He'd already locked and loaded a nuke to blow Disney's shareholders apart—did he really need Comcast's help?
No way. Disney was a Hollywood player; Comcast was an outsider.
Dunn Films joining forces with an interloper against a Hollywood titan? That's inviting the wolf in!
Even if they won, it'd look bad.
Teaming up with Roy Disney was the smarter, safer bet.
Dunn glanced around, grinning. "Alright, Brian, this is too big a topic. Dunn Films is busy growing Tarzan TV, and Comcast's got its hands full integrating AT&T's chunk of assets. We're stretched thin! Heh, if you ask me, you should just go announce the good news—I'm dying to hear it!"
…
Since September hit, Tarzan TV's subscriber count had been skyrocketing, with over 500,000 new sign-ups daily.
As of now, they were at 8.84 million subscribers!
Today was Friday, the last workday of the week—prime time for a surge.
"Could we break a million in a single day?"
That question wasn't just bouncing around Dunn's head—every exec at Dunn Films was wondering the same thing.
HBO had been in the game for decades, with a huge operation and deep channels. Sure, Tarzan had passed them in subscribers, but HBO still led in total revenue as the industry king.
But Tarzan TV's momentum was unreal. At this rate, within six months, they could legitimately overtake HBO and claim the top spot as North America's biggest premium cable network!
Brian Roberts stepped up to the podium, mic ready. In his mid-forties, he looked sharp and energized.
"We've got a lot of friends here tonight—Comcast folks and honored guests from Dunn Films. We're gathered for one reason: to celebrate Tarzan TV's growth miracle! Over the past two weeks, Dunn Films and Comcast kicked off a new partnership, pushing hard to spread Tarzan TV. And the results? They're looking good!"
"According to the latest—no, yesterday's—data, Tarzan TV's subscribers have topped 8.84 million! Nearly 4 million of those came in the last two weeks. That proves this collaboration between Comcast and Dunn Films is a win—something to cheer about, something that's turning heads!"
Brian paused. Comcast's crew clapped, but it was sparse, half-hearted.
Dunn Films' people, meanwhile, were all ears for the latest numbers, tuning out the fluffy preamble.
Brian coughed, a little thrown. "So, I'm hoping Comcast and Dunn Films can dive into more joint ventures…"
Dunn's face darkened. Worried Brian might drag him into the Disney talk, he jumped in. "Brian, I can't wait any longer—spill it! How many new subscribers did Tarzan TV get today? You didn't forget, right?"
Laughter rippled through the room. Brian pulled a note from his jacket pocket, flashing a wide grin. "Alright, here it is: on September 7th, Tarzan TV added…"
He stretched the pause, then bellowed, "1.46 million!"
"How many? 1.46 million?"
Dunn blinked, stunned. Bill McNickle, Chris Albrecht, and the rest of Dunn's crew gaped in disbelief.
1.46 million new subscribers in one day? That was insane!
Dunn had figured they might crack a million.
But this? This was next-level!
With 8.84 million already in the bag, plus 1.46 million, that meant… total subscribers had blown past 10 million?
A legit TV industry miracle!
Right up there with Spider-Man's $1.26 billion global box-office legend in movies!
HBO's peak in North America? Around 8 million subscribers.
Tarzan TV hitting over 10 million? That was a flex to make every rival green with envy!
"Whoa!"
Forget banquet etiquette—the room erupted in cheers.
Bill McNickle and Wes Cotton hugged it out. Chris Albrecht high-fived Tosca Musk. Moritz Eckhart and Dunn clinked glasses…
10 million subscribers—an absolute monster milestone!
"HBO's global total's over 12 million. If we can, I want to smash that too!"
Dunn strode up beside Brian, grabbing the mic and booming his ambition.
The energy in the room cranked up even higher.
Pop!
Someone—nobody knew who—cracked open a champagne bottle. The fizzy spray shot toward Dunn like a shockwave.
In a split second, he couldn't dodge.
He and Brian got drenched head to toe.
The laughter stopped cold, an awkward hush falling over the crowd.
Brian was Comcast's boss. Dunn was Dunn Films' kingpin.
This…
They locked eyes and burst out laughing.
Then—pop, pop!—champagne flew everywhere.
This wasn't some stuffy business mixer anymore.
It felt like a team celebrating a championship win.
Joy bubbled over with the champagne.
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