Comcast Expands Q1 Video Subscriber Loss to 614,000 as Broadband Sub Growth Cools
April 27, 2023
Comcast April 27 disclosed it lost 614,000 Xfinity video subscribers in the first quarter (ended March 31). That is up 20% from a subscriber loss of 512,000 during the previous-year period. The cable operator ended the quarter with 15.5 million subscribers, down more than 2.1 million subs from 17.6 million during the prior-year period.
Notably, high-speed internet subscriber growth cooled significantly, with the nation’s largest ISP adding just 5,000 broadband subscribers in the quarter, down from 264,000 subscriber additions in the prior-year period. Comcast ended the quarter with 32.324 million broadband subs, from 32.32 million in the previous-year period.
Fewer new broadband subs didn’t negatively impact revenue growth, as the average monthly data use per broadband subscriber reached nearly 700 gigabytes, and drove broadband revenue growth 4.8% to $6.3 billion from $6 billion in the prior-year period.
Speaking on the fiscal call, Mike Cavanagh, named president of NBCUniversal in the wake of the abrupt firing of Jeff Shell following his inappropriate workplace relationship, said that while adding broadband subs in immediate future would be a challenge due to the macro economic environment, he fully expects to return to normal subscriber growth in the long-term.
“We have the best hand out there to win against all the competing technologies, whether its fiber or its wireless,” said Cavanagh, who remains president of Comcast Corp., while adding that more 100 million people engage with Comcast content across its distribution channels every month.
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