Comcast is now a broadband company
Speed Matters reported two months ago that Comcast’s latest quarterly earnings showed that broadband was outpacing cable, meaning the company was gaining Internet subscribers and losing video subscribers. Comcast has now confirmed that it has more broadband subscribers than video subscribers – 22.5 million and 22.3 million respectively.
As Motherboard notes, Comcast has been increasing its Internet-based offerings to entice new broadband customers:
The company has announced an over-the-top streaming service called Stream that gives its broadband subscribers access to a selection of channels (including HBO) for $15 per month, and a service to stream select EA video games over the internet to your TV, no Xbox or PlayStation required. (Early reviews of this service, which requires an internet-connected video set-top box, are only so-so.) Call it the great convergence of home-based video entertainment, all delivered via a Comcast broadband connection.
The fact that Comcast now has more broadband subscribers doesn’t change its incentive to protect its cable bundles against a growing number of online video options, even as it increases its presence in that market. Video services remain more profitable for Comcast than broadband. In the last quarter, the company generated $3 billion from Internet subscriptions and $5.3 billion from cable-TV subscriptions.
Comcast Reports 2nd Quarter 2015 Results (Comcast, July 23, 2015)
Comcast spent $336 million on failed merger (Speed Matters, May 6, 2015)
Internet Is Now Bigger Than TV for Comcast (Motherboard, July 23, 2015)
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CWA District 2-13 reaches dual agreements with Comcast
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