CFO: Consolidated Communications Video Takes Backseat to Broadband

The latest conflict between content owners and video service providers may have been de-escalated when Federal Communications Commission intervention put a halt to Sinclair’s blackout of Dish Network, but conflicts remain. Some video providers -- including Consolidated Communications -- are finding video content economics so challenging that they are rethinking that whole line of business. “We used to be very triple play and video-centric,” said Consolidated Communications CFO Steve Childers. “But with the explosion of video content costs and the cost of [customer premises equipment] for video customers, we’re really trying to, from the consumer side, stabilize our broadband services -- and we’ll offer subscription services...but we’d really rather work with somebody to help them with over-the-top or streaming capabilities.”