Michael J. Cavanagh
Chief Financial Officer at Comcast
Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. I'll begin on slide four with our second quarter consolidated 2021 results. Revenue increased 20% to $28.5 billion. Adjusted EBITDA increased 13% to $8.9 billion. Adjusted EPS increased 22% to $0.84 per share. And finally, we generated $4.8 billion of free cash flow. Now let's turn to our business segment results, starting with Cable Communications on slide five. Cable revenue increased 11% to $16 billion, EBITDA increased nearly 15% to $7.1 billion and net cash flow grew close to 15% to $5 billion.
As a reminder, last year's second quarter was most significantly impacted by COVID-19, including adjustments accrued for customer RSN fees. Excluding the impact of these RSN adjustments, Cable Communications revenue increased 9.3% with no corresponding impact to EBITDA. We added 294,000 net new customer relationships, up 35% over last year's second quarter and up 93% over the second quarter of 2019. This was the best second quarter on record and was driven by broadband, where we added 354,000 net new residential and business customers, up 10% over last year's second quarter and 69% above the second quarter of 2019.
These strong results were driven by improved churn and healthy connects relative to both 2020 and 2019, and this was the lowest second quarter broadband churn on record. Looking ahead, as Brian mentioned earlier, based on our strong results through the first half of the year as well as current trends, we now expect total broadband net additions for 2021 be up mid-teens from the 1.4 million net adds in 2019. Broadband revenue increased 14% and grew 13%, excluding the RSN fee adjustments in last year's second quarter. These results were driven by strong growth in volume and rates. Wireless revenue grew 70% due to an increase in both customer lines and higher device sales. We added 280,000 net new lines in the quarter, the best result since launching this business in 2017, bringing us to 3.4 million total lines as of quarter end. We are encouraged by the initial results on our new unlimited plan, which is driving a notable increase in unlimited connects as well as a lift in overall volume.
Turning to video. Revenue increased 2.6% or 0.5%, excluding the RSN fee adjustments in last year's second quarter, reflecting healthy growth in rates, mostly offset by net video subscriber losses totaling 399,000. While our residential rate adjustment at the beginning of the year was the primary driver of the increase in rates, we believe it was also a contributor to the video subscriber loss in the quarter. Business Services revenue increased 10%, primarily driven by higher rates though the comparison to last year when business services was significantly impacted by COVID-19.
Over the past year, we have bounced back, rates have recovered and customer growth is strong as we added 17,000 net new customers in the quarter and 70,000 over the past year, primarily driven by continued improvement in small business. Last, advertising revenue increased 59%, reflecting an overall market recovery compared to last year when we experienced reduced spending from advertisers due to COVID-19. As we move to the second half of the year, we will have difficult comparisons to last year when we benefited from strong political advertising. Turning to expenses. Cable Communications second quarter expenses increased 8.2%. Programming expenses increased 12% and were up 5%, excluding the impact of RSN adjustments last year, primarily due to the number of contract renewals that started to cycle through in 2020, combined with annual escalators in existing agreements.
Looking to the third quarter, we expect programming expense growth to increase at high single-digit levels due to the continued impact of contract renewals as well as the comparison to last year's third quarter, which was also favorably impacted by RSN fee adjustments. For the full year, we continue to expect programming expense to increase at high single-digit levels. Nonprogramming expenses increased 5.7% or 0.5% on a per relationship basis due to higher technical and product support and advertising, marketing and promotion spend to drive growth in our core broadband and wireless businesses. These higher expenses were partially offset by lower bad debt expense. These trends should continue in the third quarter. Cable Communications EBITDA grew nearly 15% to $7.1 billion, including a contribution of $68 million from our wireless business, the best results since launch. Cable EBITDA margins reached 44.2%, reflecting 140 basis points of year-over-year improvement. While the RSN fee adjustments had no impact on EBITDA, they did impact margins last year. Excluding the RSN adjustment impact, margins expanded 200 basis points year-over-year.
Cable cap expenditures increased 17%, resulting in capex intensity of 10.6%, up 50 basis points compared to last year. These results were driven by an increase in scalable infrastructure as we continue to enhance the capacity of our network as well as increases in broadband-related CPE and line extensions. As Brian mentioned, we have decided to move a bit faster to the next phase of DOCSIS using very cost-effective technology, allowing us to maintain the capex intensity level we achieved in 2020, which was the lowest in our history, and we expect to be at this level for the next few years. Now let's turn to slide six for NBCUniversal.
Let's start with total NBC Universal results. Revenue increased 39% to $8 billion, and EBITDA increased 13%, $1.6 billion. Media revenue increased 26%, driven by higher advertising, distribution and other revenue. Advertising revenue increased 33%, reflecting the timing of sports and overall market recovery compared to last year and the launch of Peacock. We had significantly more sporting events compared to last year when sports were paused, which benefited our advertising revenue.
Excluding this benefit, advertising grew at mid-teens levels. Distribution revenue increased 19% or high single digits, excluding the RSN fee adjustments that impacted last year's results. This growth reflects higher rates post the successful completion of several carriage renewals at the end of 2020, partially offset by subscriber declines, which were sequentially flat. Media EBITDA declined 16% to $1.4 billion, including Peacock, which generated revenue of $122 million and an EBITDA loss of $363 million. Excluding Peacock, Media EBITDA was essentially flat, driven by higher sports costs associated with the increase in sporting events this quarter compared to both last year and 2019. As a reminder, our third quarter Media results will be impacted by our broadcast of the Summer Olympics.
Studio revenue increased 8.4%, driven by higher theatrical revenue, reflecting the success of Fast nine in theaters and compared to last year when theaters were mainly closed due to COVID-19. Studio EBITDA decreased 52% to $156 million as a result of higher expenses associated with our theatrical releases compared to last year when releases were paused, the timing of content licensing sales and the comparison to last year, which included transactions with Peacock related to our initial launch of the service.
In the second half, EBITDA comparisons to last year will remain challenging as we continue to launch new theatrical releases and ramp our TV production. Theme Parks revenue increased by $958 million to $1.1 billion and generated EBITDA of $221 million, which included about $150 million of Universal Beijing preopening costs.
This is the first profitable quarter we've had since the pandemic began in the first quarter of 2020 and was driven by strong results at our Universal Orlando Resort. Orlando has had exceptionally strong demand, with June attendance exceeding 2019 levels as well as strong per cap growth, despite virtually no international guests during the quarter due to COVID-related travel constraints. We opened our Jurassic World-themed roller coaster, the VelociCoaster, on June 10 with some of the highest guest satisfaction scores we've had. Hollywood has been operating without capacity restriction since mid-June and has experienced strong demand, aided by the opening of our Secret Life of Pets traction in April. We're optimistic that our domestic parks are on a path to return to historic levels of profitability, but we need international visitation to resume, which remains dependent on COVID-related travel restrictions being lifted.
At our Japan Park, results continue to be challenging. After closing in late April, we reopened on June one with capacity restrictions that are likely to remain in place through the summer. Last, as we prepare to open our newest park, Universal Beijing, we expect overall results will be negatively impacted by up to $250 million in the third quarter. Now let's turn to slide seven for Sky, which I will speak to on a constant currency basis. For the second quarter, Sky revenue increased 15% to $5.2 billion, largely reflecting strong growth in our U.K. business.
Direct-to-consumer revenue increased 7.7%, primarily reflecting higher average revenue per customer relationship. Results in the U.K. drove the bulk of the growth and benefited from the comparison to last year when sports subscriptions were paused as well as a rate increase, higher mobile device sales and improving hospitality revenue as pubs and clubs reopen. While customer relationships grew in the U.K., overall customer relationships declined 248,000, primarily driven by customer losses in Italy and Germany to the end of the football season.
As we have previously said, we have reset our football rights in Germany and Italy. As a result, we anticipate lower programming and production expense, along with continued customer losses in the third and fourth quarters. We believe this disciplined approach to sports-related cost is the right long-term financial decision for the business. Advertising revenue increased 79% with results in the U.K. driving the growth and reflecting the overall market recovery from COVID-19 as well as an increase in the number of sporting events compared to last year when sports were paused. Sky generated $560 million in EBITDA, a 32% decline compared to last year's second quarter, primarily reflecting higher sports rights amortization related to more events in the current quarter. These higher expenses were partially offset by lower entertainment costs due to production delays. I'll wrap up with free cash flow and capital allocation on slide eight.
The Free cash flow was $4.8 billion in the quarter, a decrease of 20% year-over-year, largely due to the timing of last year's federal tax payments, which were deferred to the third quarter. While net working capital was a positive contribution to free cash flow in the quarter, we continue to expect it will be a negative drag on our full year results and higher compared to 2019 levels due to an increase in content investments and our broadcast of the Olympics. Consolidated total capital, which includes capital expenditures as well as software and intangibles, increased 5.2% in the second quarter to $2.8 billion, reflecting an increase in Cable, which was partially offset by a decline at NBCU.
For the full year, we now expect capital to be slightly above 2020 levels, reflecting our plan, as I've previously mentioned, to accelerate enhancements to our network. In the second quarter, our return of capital to shareholders included dividend payments totaling $1.2 billion, up 9.5% year-over-year. We also resumed our share repurchase activity late in the second quarter, totaling $500 million as of June 30. As previously communicated, we intend to stay at historical buyback levels until we reach our intended target leverage levels, which we currently expect to reach sometime in 2022. With our return to share repurchase in the quarter, we are happy to get back to our long-standing balanced approach to capital allocation, which consists of maintaining a strong balance sheet, investing organically for profitable growth and returning capital to shareholders. Thanks for joining us on the call this morning.
I'll turn it back to Marci, who will lead the question-and-answer portion of the call.