Comcast Cable maybe slowly embracing third-party over-the-top video service such as Netflix, YouTube and Sling TV, but it continues to jettison pay-TV subscribers.
The cable operator Oct. 25 disclosed it lost 106,000 subscribers in the third quarter (ended Sept. 30), and improvement from the 125,000 subs lost in the previous-year period.
In reality, Comcast ended the quarter with 22 million video subs – down 375,000 subs from 22.39 million last year.
At the same time, Comcast is one of the nation’s largest ISPs, adding 334,000 residential broadband customers in the quarter – up 83.5% from 182,000 customer additions last year. The company ended the period with more than 24.7 million residential high-speed Internet customers, compared to 23.5 million customers last year.
It was the best Q3 for broadband additions in 10 years. Indeed, broadband revenue increased 9.6% in the quarter to $4.3 billion. Revenue is up 9.1% to $12.7 billion through the first nine months of the fiscal year.
“Comcast Cable’s pre-tax earnings growth was the fastest in six years, and customer relationship growth accelerated,” Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast Corp., said in a statement.