Watson Won’t Disrupt Comcast's Momentum

Making his debut before analysts as Comcast Cable’s new CEO Thursday, Dave Watson pledged not to tinker with the pay TV juggernaut’s momentum, focusing his efforts on profitable growth, innovative products and services and constantly improving customer service.

Watson, who has been with Comcast since 1991, became CEO of the cable unit on April 1, after former CEO Neil Smit transitioned from day-to-day operations to vice chairman of Comcast Corp. Watson had most recently been chief operating officer under Smit, so the transition he said, was no major undertaking.

“I’ve been working with Neil on our strategy for awhile,” Watson said on a conference call with analysts to discuss first quarter results. “It’s no great surprise that I’m going to stay focused on what’s working.”

Watson takes the cable helm at a critical point for Comcast—it is launching a new wireless product, called Xfinity Mobile, and pay-TV operators are facing a growing potential competitive onslaught from virtual MVPDs, 5G wireless and skinny bundles.

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