Comcast: We’ll Stick With Triple Play

Comcast told analysts that it will continue to upsell customers into its triple play product bundle of video, data and phone.

First quarter video subscriber losses rose for the first time since the third quarter of 2010 at Comcast to 60,000 from 37,000 in 2012. On a conference call with analysts to discuss quarterly results, Comcast said the increase was due to two factors: a change in the way it accounts for video customers in multiple dwelling units (MDUs) and a price increase across a wider portion of its footprint. Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts noted the increase in video losses, but said the company was still committed to growth. “Our goal is to continue to make progress reducing video customer losses,” Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said. Comcast vice chairman and chief financial officer Michael Angelakis said on the call that Comcast implemented a rate increase across 72% of its footprint in the quarter, compared to 62% in the same period last year. In addition, it changed the way it counts MDU customers, which accounted for about half of the losses. He added that the rest of the customer losses were less profitable single play subscribers.