AT&T’s losses mount

AT&T lost broadband customers in the second quarter of 2020, dropping from 14.05 million to 13.94 million. Fiber customers rose from 4.1 million to 4.32 million during the three-month period, but losses in the DSL category brought the total number of customers down. The average revenue per user in broadband was $51.61/month. In the three months ending June 30, AT&T reported a net loss of 954,000 video customers. That includes an 886,000-customer net loss from AT&T's "Premium TV" services, a category that includes DirecTV satellite, U-verse wireline service, and the AT&T TV online service that mimics cable TV. Another 68,000 customers left AT&T TV Now, a separate streaming service formerly known as DirecTV Now. Higher prices helped drive the customer losses. As it has in past quarters, AT&T said its practice of giving out fewer promotional-pricing deals contributed to the customer losses for AT&T TV Now. AT&T now has 18.4 million video customers, including both Premium TV and AT&T TV Now, down from nearly 25.5 million in mid-2018. About 91,000 customers who are counted among the net TV losses actually still had service as of June 30. These are subscribers "for whom we have agreed not to terminate service under the Federal Communications Commission's 'Keep Americans Connected Pledge,'" AT&T said. "For reporting purposes, the company counts these subscribers as if they had disconnected service."