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Time Warner Cable subscribers tune out ahead of Comcast deal(City A.M. (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) US BROADBAND titan Time Warner Cable lost more video subscribers than analysts had expected in the third quarter as more customers opted for internet streaming services offered by rivals such as Netflix. The second largest US cable TV operator lost a net 184,000 household video customers in the three months to 30 September. The decline knocked net income down 6.2 per cent to $499m (£311.6m) compared with the same quarter last year and caused revenue to grow 3.6 per cent to $5.71bn, below expectations. Time Warner Cable is currently being acquired by the largest US cable provider - Comcast - as part of a $45.3bn deal expected to close in early 2015. "We're executing well against our plan, with solid financial performance and strong subscriber momentum," said Time Warner Cable's chairman and chief executive Rob Marcus. "We continue to expect the Comcast merger to close early in 2015." Time Warner Cable ended the quarter with nearly 10.83m residential video subscribers and nearly 11.51m residential broadband customers. Meanwhile, Comcast last week reported higher quarterly revenue and income as more people signed up for high-speed internet and fewer customers dropped their cable subscriptions. Time Warner Cable also forecast 2014 revenue of about $22.8bn, growth of around 3.1 per cent. The forecast is lower than the guidance it gave in July that pegged revenue growth for the year of between 3.5 per cent and 4.5 percent. Time Warner Cable's shares slipped 0.61 per cent during trading yesterday to close down at $142.88 in New York. (c) 2014 City A.M. |