Comcast Subscribers Almost Stop Cancelling Cable

NEW YORK (AP) — It's become the routine in the cable industry that subscribers stream out the door every quarter, hanging up on cable in favor of service from satellite or phone companies. But in the October to December quarter, Comcast Corp. nearly managed to stop that flow.

The country's largest cable company on Wednesday said it lost 17,000 TV customers in the fourth quarter, the smallest number of defections in five years. It compares with a loss of 135,000 subscribers in the same quarter a year earlier.

Comcast credits added TV channels and better customer service for the better retention. Its stock jumped nearly 8 percent before regular trading.

The Philadelphia-based company added a net 336,000 broadband customers in the same period. That was the best fourth-quarter result in years. Both cable and phone companies have been reporting declining numbers, since more than two-thirds of U.S. households already have broadband.

The result indicates that Comcast keeps stealing broadband customers from phone companies. Together, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. added a net 51,000 broadband customers in the period.

Comcast on Wednesday reported net income of $1.29 billion, or 47 cents per share, for the quarter. That's up 26 percent from $1.02 billion, or 36 cents per share, in the last three months of 2010.

Analysts polled by FactSet were on average expecting earnings of 41 cents per share.

Revenue was $15.04 billion, up 55 percent from $9.72 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. The increase was due mainly to the acquisition of NBC Universal, which closed a year ago. Revenue rose 3 percent when factoring in NBC Universal in the previous-year figure.

Analysts had forecast revenue of $14.94 billion.

The cable provider said it was raising its annual dividend from 45 cents to 65 cents per share, and also authorized a new $6.5 billion stock buyback program. The company intends to buy back $3 billion in shares this year. The dividend is worth $1.8 billion to shareholders annually.

Comcast shares rose $2.09 to $29.34 in premarket trading. In recent days, the shares have been trading at the highest level in four and a half years.

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Comments

[Americanwoman55]

04:24 PM on 02/16/2012

I love my comcast. I hated AT&T.

[Gturbine]

07:33 AM on 02/16/2012

Last month Comcast raised there prices on everything except there phone service by over 10%, in some cases over 15% at least in my area. I would like to see the report for the Jan-Mar quarter, I'm guessing there will be alot more jumping ship when they are able.

[George Bertha]

05:25 AM on 02/16/2012

And if you rent, you're stuck because the landlord or the realtor won't let you hang a dish!

[tiptoetimy]

04:47 AM on 02/16/2012

They suck. Mine goes down everyday and half the shows say your program should return in a moment.

[jimme]

05:52 PM on 02/16/2012

I highly doubt your cable goes down "every day". I've had maybe 2 or 3 outages in the 5 years I've had it here. Even at my old house it rarely went out over a 15 year span.

[laalaa123456789]

04:30 AM on 02/16/2012

They've almost stopped canceling because there is no hope. Verizon does not offer a favorable alternative with Fios, if their phone service and internet is any indication. We need a new company to provide competition in the same venue to give customers some leverage at the service they are willing--or not willing--to tolerate. We are held hostage by a virtual monopoly. I thought that kind of business was not allowed anymore. Isn't that why the "telephone company" doesn't exist any more? Too much power, too little customer care, too easy to raise prices and reduce services with little recourse without major switches of service.

[boatscattergood]

04:21 AM on 02/16/2012

If someone offered a viable competitor cable service, comcrap would be out of business. one charge for basic cable, another for enhanced basic cable. then each group of channels has its own price. You get one channel you want and 20 that are garbage. and the prices keep going up and up. I don't even have premium channels and am paying $70 a month. stupid me. And don't forget their hours and hours of full length infomercials that they are getting paid for on one end and sticking it to us because we are paying for entertainment programming on the channels and getting commercials for hours at a time. I have had such bad experiences with the phone and dsl at verizon that I refused to change the tv service to fios. What a choice, the frying pan or the fire.

[Christine Garcia]

03:14 AM on 02/16/2012

I call and threaten to cancel once every 6 months and I get phone Internet and all of the movie channels for 130.00 a month, anytime it goes up I call and complain and they drop my price again and even give me a couple of free pay per views. The secret is to pay one month ahead and never get behind on your bill!

[Americanwoman55]

04:25 PM on 02/16/2012

Get boxee Box.

[weedo9]

02:21 AM on 02/16/2012

People had any brains they would dump Direct -TV and CC.

[yayayogi]

02:00 AM on 02/16/2012

Stop feeding the MONEY MONSTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[yayayogi]

01:57 AM on 02/16/2012

HELLO....Why should it cost anything, the equipment was paid for more times over then you will ever know for each and everyhouse now standing and will be standing in the next 23 years........they use air wavesssss, if they can advertise shows on regular tv..the cable shows, then they should be showing them and not when their off the season by two years or cable has dropped the show. It is true we shouldn't be paying more for watching tv then heating the house or keeping the lights on...REMEMBER SUPPLY AND DEMAND NO DEMAND AND THE PRICE WILL DROP, THE PRECIOUS STARS THAT RELY ON IT WILL WANT THEIR MUGS ON TV SO THEY WILL HELP CHANGE IT IF YOU DON;'T WANT TO PAY THE CABLE BEFORE FEEDING YOUR CHILDREN.

[DismayedRepub]

01:24 AM on 02/16/2012

Our two year contract just ended and the bill for TV, phone & Web jumped to $200. The DirectTV guy has been very busy in our neighborhood and he'll probably be visiting us soon.

[cjennmom]

01:16 AM on 02/16/2012

I have Comcast internet and phone - no TV hookups - and am seriously considering leaving because they keep jacking the prices up. Phone and internet service, unless you're getting luxe service, should NOT be more than $50-55 per month.

[starshot49]

12:11 AM on 02/16/2012

so glad they stopped with those turtle commercials

[bring in swat]

11:44 PM on 02/15/2012

cut the cable 18mos ago...buhbye

[missharleyd]

11:06 PM on 02/15/2012

I've been answering posts and don't see them posted? I guess comcast. doesn't like what I have to say.