Despite ratings drop, Olympics boosts Comcast in 3Q

NEW YORK (AP) — Comcast's profit rose 12 percent in the July-September quarter thanks to the Olympics and the first third-quarter gains in video subscribers in a decade.

The cable giant has been winning back video subscribers despite an overall drop in the number of people who pay for traditional TV.

There has also been a trend toward smaller audiences, even for big sporting events like NFL football and the Olympics.

Analysts also say it has been winning customers from some competitors like Dish and AT&T's U-verse TV service, since the telecom giant is now focused on DirecTV instead.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts on a conference call with analysts Wednesday maintained that he has "a healthy degree of skepticism" that these new streaming TV services will "create millions and millions of subscribers anytime soon," and most people value their cable and satellite subscriptions.