Cable companies ramping up Web, HD, mobile service
PHILADEPHIA -- Cable operators are riding high heading into this year's industry trade show, which kicks off this weekend.
After a dismal 2007 in which their shares took a big pounding, cable is seeing a rebound as Wall Street put more weight on their gains in high-speed Internet and digital voice rather than focusing mainly on their traditional video services.
Year-to-date, industry leader Comcast's shares are up 21% after falling 57% in 2007. The stock rose 8.6% the day that the Philadelphia-based company posted a 23% increase in first-quarter operating profit despite losing 57,000 basic video subscribers; its new Internet, phone and digital video subscribers has made up the difference, and more.
Time Warner Cable Inc. shares are up 10% so far this year, recovering from a 33% freefall last year, while Cablevision Systems's stock rose 2% after declining 14% in 2007.
For the most part, the slowing economy didn't seem to take much of a bite. Cable companies added more double- and triple-play customers — people who bought two or three bundled services at lower rates than they would have paid a la carte.
"In the face of an uncertain economy, we're growing," said Kyle McSlarrow, chief executive of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, host of the 2008 Cable Show in New Orleans.
With features like unlimited domestic phone calls, cable companies have continued to take business away from rivals such as Verizon Communications, which lost 3 million residential lines for traditional phone service in the first quarter, with total home lines down 11% from 2007. Verizon added 263,000 net new FiOS TV and 262,000 FiOS Internet subscribers.
Peter Stern, chief strategy officer of Time Warner Cable, said the business has changed.
"If you looked at us about 10 to 12 years ago, 100% of our revenues were derived from analog video. If you look at the business today, almost 50% of our revenues are now derived from businesses beyond that of analog video," he told The Associated Press.
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