A view from the back of a Comcast truck parked on a residential street in Lafayette, California, on September 28, 2021.
The Smith Collection/Gadot | Archive Photo | Getty Images
Comcast Cable Chief Executive Dave Watson told investors on Monday that the company expects to lose more than 100,000 broadband customers in the fourth quarter as the market “remains highly competitive.”
Comcast shares fell more than 8% after Watson spoke at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference on Monday.
Cable broadband growth has been in continuous decline. While executives also blame the decline on a slowdown in home buying and selling – they point out that fewer people are signing up for cable TV when buying a new home – competition from wireless providers has increased, e.g. Verizon and T-Mobile also played a big role.
“Our competition remains strong. That hasn’t changed; it’s been pretty consistent throughout the year,” Watson said on Monday, especially among “price-sensitive” consumers.
Watson noted that the fourth quarter likely mirrored the first half of the year, when the company lost “nearly 100,000” customers per quarter.
Despite the continued cable TV trend, Watson added that Comcast’s broadband business remains stable in terms of high-end internet packages.
His warning comes after Comcast’s third-quarter losses were relatively improved.
The company said in October that domestic broadband net losses totaled 87,000 households in the third quarter. However, excluding losses from the end of the government’s Affordable Connectivity scheme, which offered discounts to eligible low-income households, the company estimates it would have grown by 9,000 customers.
As of September 30, Comcast had nearly 32 million domestic broadband customers.
Watson on Monday attributed the improvement in the third quarter to seasonality — returning to school typically means improved broadband numbers. He also noted that NBCUniversal’s marketing of the Summer Olympics has also been helpful.
Revealed: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. rights holder for all summer and winter Olympics through 2032.
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