Comcast’s cable divison reported revenue growth despite the loss of 273,000 video subscribers in the third quarter. Comcast closed Q3 and entered the year's final quarter with 19.22 million residential and 874,000 business video subscribers, totalling approximately 20.09 million, but its cable segment saw its best quarterly customer relationship growth on record thanks to high-speed internet customer net additions. “Driven by our industry-leading platform and strategic focus on broadband, aggregation, and streaming, we added a record 633,000 high-speed internet customers and 556,000 total net new customer relationships," said Comcast CEO Brian Roberts in a statement.
The cable giant lost 253,000 residential video subscribers and another 20,000 business video customers, occurring ahead of the 238,000 total video subscribers lost during the same quarter last year. from the 477,000 lost in the previous quarter. The company is seeking other ways to aid the consequences of the losses. "At the same time, we’re growing our entertainment platforms with the addition of Flex, which has a significant positive impact on broadband churn and customer lifetime value," Roberts said.
Cable segment revenues rose 2.9% to $15 billion as growth in broadband, wireless and business services helped offset slight declines in video revenues. NBCUniversal continued to struggle during the third quarter due to the pandemic and massive declines in filmed entertainment and theme parks revenue lead total segment revenue to drop by 18.9%. Broadcast television was the sole bright spot for NBCUniversal but that growth was lead by increases in content licensing revenue, which Comcast said included deals with Peacock.
As Comcast’s legacy video business continues to shrink, its new streaming venture has grown rapidly. The service reported 15 million subscribers in September. The increase likely resulted from Comcast reaching a distribution deal with Roku for Peacock. “Our integrated strategy is also driving results in streaming with nearly 22 million sign-ups for Peacock to date, and we are exceeding our expectations on all engagement metrics in only a few months,” Roberts said.
Our integrated strategy is also driving results in streaming with nearly 22 million sign-ups for Peacock to date, and we are exceeding our expectations on all engagement metrics in only a few months.” Brian Roberts Comcast CEO
