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Comcast Excited To Have Lost 4,000 TV Subscribers This Spring (consumerist.com)
An anonymous reader writes from a report via The Consumerist: Comcast has released their second quarter results and they are happy to announce that they lost 4,000 TV subscribers in the last three months. Why are they so happy to announce such a loss? Because, compared to the same time last year where they lost 69,000 TV subscribers, the loss this year is much better for them. Comcast said in a statement to investors that "video customers net losses improved to 4,000, the best second quarter result in over 10 years." That Consumerist reports: "That means that for the most than a decade, the best Comcast can do in April to June of every year is to lose only 4,000 TV subscribers. At this time last year, Comcast reported 22.3 million TV subscribers, and at the same time this year, they report roughly 22.3 million TV subscribers. The major driver of increased subscriptions comes, as you'd guess, from broadband. Comcast reports an increase of 220,000 broadband customers in the second quarter which, in the overall growth of the company, entirely offsets a lost of 4,000 TV viewers."
If there is an annual cycle where they tend to lose and gain subscribers at certain times of the year, then this makes sense.
I would be happy too if my down season was less pronounced than normal.
The article alone doesn't provide enough information to justify the snarky headline.
Fortunately, Comcast is a shitty enough company that they earn the snark simply by continuing to exist.
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According to the latest ruleset, this post should be modded as Vorpal Flamebait +5.
A high-flying stock missed the quarterly earnings by a penny per share and the share price plunged 50% in after market trading.
Translation: Stock analysts are dicks.
They pretty much force the TV subscription on you these days. They pretty much forced a TV subscription on me even though I'm an Internet-only user since it's actually cheaper to have the cable package than the Internet package alone. I haven't even opened the cable box they sent me.
"Is that dad? Either that or Batman's really let himself go."
I haven't been a subscriber in 8 years and I get something in the mail from Comcast.... Every. Single. Day.
I know sending junk mail costs next to nothing, but maybe if they step it down a notch they can save a few dollars.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
CenturyLink does the same for me. I have said no to their face several times yet every week, there it is in my mailbox. I am sure they have wasted an entire tree and who knows how much ink on me...
Oh... as long as we are talking about junk mail... what is with charities sending me huge packets of paper? I already gave you money! I sought you out! You don't need to market to me anymore!
Won't someone think of the trees?!
And... to stay on topic... How many subscribers did they take on during the same period and how does that compare to last year? That seems to be the more meaningful number... I would think anyway...
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
Remember when they where gaining subscribers because of Lost?
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Even with its tricks of increasing the pricing of Internet only service so that the "Internet + TV package" looks like a great deal, they still can't keep people subscribed to Cable. A lot of people are simply fed up with the horrible Cable TV experience and simply don't want it at any price. The funny part is that the current proposal by the FCC to open up the CableBox to competition (something the Cable lobby has been fighting tooth-and-nail) would go a long way to improve the experience and possibly save the Cable TV Industry in the long run
"We lost less than we did last year."
That's like saying Clinton is not as bad as *That Other Guy*
Seriously, in other "news", Amazon sees a huge decline in revenue in Q1 every year ...
Yes, Comcast, and just about every other related company (cable, IPTV, or satellite), loses subs every year in Q2, or at best sees fewer gains. People tend to move out of their houses in the spring, so that they can sell during the peak buying summer season, since families with children prefer not to move during the school year. And college students cancel their subscriptions when school ends in May or June (Q2) for the summer (even broadband, if they are living off campus). Typically, they gain the majority (or perhaps more, some years) of those subs back in Q3 or Q4; as evidenced by the "flat" year-over-year numbers.
Yes, losing 4,000 subs in Q2 is something for Comcast to celebrate, because if history is any indication, that means that they are actually going to see positive growth for the year. But it's not all good news. It's entirely possible that history isn't an indication, and that the reason that fewer subs were lost in Q2 this year was because there are fewer students subscribing in the first place. And that means that these subs won't reappear in the fall, if that's the case. I can't tell for certain, but it's a possibility.
I'm out of there.
Just saying. Already bought an HDTV antenna, so it's sayonara, Comcast.
Knowing my high school classmates in BC get 200 Mbps for $20 a month makes me furious.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
I worked at USPS and I can confirm that Comcast is on a whole different level than anyone else when it comes to sending junk mail, in measures of both frequency and address coverage.
The best measure you had that a house was empty was when they would get no mail other than Comcast junk.
I remember on one block on my very first route there was a tiny old empty house behind some trees back by an alley... if it weren't for Comcast junk making me go out of my way to look to see if such an address actually existed, I never would have noticed that hidden house. :P
Trust me, your mailman gets no joy from having to shove all that junk in your box.
It's the city blocking it (or at least was, I see all sorts of articles about the mayor THINKING about changing Rule 2-2009, but I haven't seen a single one about it actually being changed).
In order to install new telecom cabinets, 60% of the OWNERS (not the person renting the house, whatever guy in Florida or China or wherever who owns it) of the buildings within 100 feet of the cabinet has to approve the construction, and nonresponders are considered "No" votes.
Seattle is weird.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
Even if Comcast remains a natural monopoly, it will not be able to push it's expensive TV packages riddles with ads and worthless filler channels. Speeds and rates can then be addressed with regulation and services like Sling will compete on price and quality.
do it. I have about $200 worth of antenna wire and splitters feeding four sets. All get networks and PBS. Cablevision jacked me $10 per month for no TV, but after raising the bill $6 per month for sports I don't watch, and $8 per month per box to decrypt a signal THEY decided to encrypt, I am still way ahead. My Tivos are well amortized, but for $40 you can get a Homeworx/Mediasonic box and add a $60 Hard Drive, and for one expense of $100 once you get basic VCR function. If you can't put up an antenna, or you are too far for what you can put up, I understand...but if you can, a bunch of wire in the air for a one time expense is the ultimate bargain.
Make high-speed data plans slightly cheaper as long as basic cable is included. Claim subscribers as 'video customers'. "Success!"
MS makes the latest Win10 upgrade nag full-screen, after a long campaign of dirty tricks forcing win7 users to upgrade. "Tens of millions of people switched to Windows 10! Success!"
My condo association just signed papers to get Fiber access in each unit before the end of the year. While I can't speak for the rest of the community, Comcast will definitely lose me as a customer, and almost certainly a few others as well.
Fiber would have to cost a LOT more than Comcast before I'd consider NOT switching.
From 197 (not even near a full package) to $70 with tax.
That's $50 for 25mb plus 10 for basic cable & hbo plus 10 for taxes.
It's a one year deal with a contract that runs 1 year (I was very specific- no 1 year deals with 2 year contracts).
Can't tell the difference.
That's about 1500 per year. That's a ski trip. maybe 2 with buds. Or it's a new car every decade.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
I think the amount of money you give, puts you in a bracket where they assume that you would like to recieve that sort of thing or maybe give more.
When I were looking through my budget to cut expenses( I dropped cable TV among other things), and halved what I gave to charity, the letters stopped.
Frontier's takeover of FIOS has something to do with this too. Frontier is another traditional cable company (whose business model is to drive customers away as quickly as possible) and the churn is driving people to Comcast. I know several who made that choice quickly after Frontier took over.
Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.
220,000 new customers - 4000 existing customers = 216,000 more clients. Where's the downside for them exactly?
Just another day in Paradise
I haven't been a subscriber in 8 years and I get something in the mail from Comcast.... Every. Single. Day.
I know sending junk mail costs next to nothing, but maybe if they step it down a notch they can save a few dollars.
There is a local cable TV/Internet provider here called Mediacom. I had them once because it was the only real option. I once talked to a regional manager from Comcast and asked them why they don't buy Mediacom and put them out of their misery.
The answer? Mediacom is too screwed up to buy and they tried. How screwed up do you have to be to not be buyable by Comcast??? Sheesh.
Mediacom gave me an unsolicited call one day selling their business internet bundle service. They didn't realize that I at one time had their "residential" service.
I informed the poor sap that
1) I've HAD your service and it was slow and unreliable and WAY overpriced
2) I've got fiber optic now, I will never change to anything else, and I tell everyone how awesome it is and
3) I WOULD RATHER HAVE A TIN CAN AND A STRING THAN USE YOUR CRAPPY SERVICE (I literally said this to the poor guy)
I still get the junk mail from them tho.
Flappinbooger isn't my real name
It's a bit of a stretch to call Comcast a natural monopoly. Yes, it's true that the physical wiring installation is a barrier for entry for new competitors, but not an insurmountable one. Many areas of the US have multiple cable offerings. Not my area, but many. A natural monopoly occurs when a single company out-competes all competitors, or where profits are so slim that the remaining entities have to merge just to reduce overhead to survive. For most regions where a single cable company holds local monopoly status, the incumbent gained that status by making deals with the local governments to keep all competitors out.
Now that every region with enough population to support a cable company has an incumbent, the existing cable companies seem to avoid competing with each other. Look at what happened when Comcast and Time Warner were looking to merge a couple years ago years ago. They argued that the merger would not reduce competition because the two barely compete for local markets. (http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/13/technology/comcast-time-warner-antitrust/) No, I would not call Comcast a "natural monopoly". It's better described as a cartel member. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cartel)
Cut the poor sap a break. I figure 99% of the evil at Comcast (or Mediacom, or AT&T, etc...) lives at upper management and above. The rank and file employees are just trying to pay the rent. I don't yell at anyone at Comcast on the phone, or even complain. Whatever problems I have come from someone who would never bother to speak with an actual customer.
Cut the poor sap a break. I figure 99% of the evil at Comcast (or Mediacom, or AT&T, etc...) lives at upper management and above. The rank and file employees are just trying to pay the rent. I don't yell at anyone at Comcast on the phone, or even complain. Whatever problems I have come from someone who would never bother to speak with an actual customer.
good point. I don't disagree with you.
Perhaps I had a fit of PTSD from such horrible service and performance of Mediacom.
At peak usefulness time, namely the 5pm to 11pm EST window, it was often sub 1.5 Mbps. This meant that, for example, youtube would not play. I know a guy who documented this and kept calling them and they kept comping him a months bill. He eventually went to DSL that was, on paper, slower, but in effect, much much faster.
Comcast itself isn't THAT bad, it's much much better than Mediacom. It is, however, about 95% reliable. It goes down regularly, even their "business class" service. But when it is up, it is banging fast. They certainly do invest in their infrastructure. It is a good value in speed until it isn't (price creep).
I think the only way to get a good deal with Comcast is to sign up, get the low rate for 1st year, then cancel and go to DSL for a year, then go back to Comcast and get the low rate. I know someone who does this, and it works.
Flappinbooger isn't my real name
I also got on some list that thinks I am over 65. (Sad story, was because my mom's last address was my house right before she died. Even though she wasn't retirement age either. We have the same last name, so...) So, I get AARP cards, hearing aid advertisements, medical scams, and pretty much every form of insurance scam junk mail constantly.
You would not believe the number of people trying to scam old people. Especially ones they think have just become a widow/widower.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
I'm sorry your Mediacom bandwidth and reliability has been horrendous. As I said, our experience with Comcast bandwidth and reliability has been uniformly excellent. It's just the billing and similar that has been awful - and of course their monopoly/cartel tactics.
There is no DSL available at my house, so I can't use the swap tactics to get a better price.
I would argue that natural monopoly is when multiple competing companies would result in unacceptably higher cost of service. Like if there are 3 competing cable providers with equal market share, a customer of one of them ends up paying for cost of laying and maintaining cable to two other homes in case they switch. So regulated utility model is best to ensure good treatment of customers while controlling costs.