For the first time in recent memory the top cable TV companies lost Internet customers in 2023. According to a report from Leichtman Research Group, the top cable TV companies, like Comcast, lost 65,000 customers in 2023. This is down from them adding 530,000 subscribers in 2023.
According to the report, Atlice lost the most Internet subscribers at 114,100 subscribers, followed by Comcast at 66,000 subscribers. The only cable TV company in the report to add subscribers was Spectrum with 155,000 subscribers added. Spectrum also recently saw Internet subscriber numbers decline as it lost subscribers in the fourth quarter 2023. Now in 2024, Comcast and Spectrum have both lost internet customers in the 1st quarter of 2024.
This all comes as T-Mobile and Verizon have seen record growth of 5G Home Internet customers.
To fight back, we have seen Internet providers push faster speeds over new options. Comcast recently announced it would be offering free speed upgrades to millions of customers.
What does this mean for cable TV companies like Spectrum and Comcast?
The cord cutting 2.0 movement—where cord cutters strive to not only cancel cable TV but also cable Internet—is gaining momentum. Now the questions are how fast will cord cutting 2.0 grow and how far will it go.
This has driven Comcast, Spectrum, and others to look at ways to diversify away from cable TV and cable Internet. Increasingly they are spending money to grow their mobile wireless business, studios, and other businesses to offset the decline of not only their TV subscribers but also their Internet subscribers.
We won’t see these companies go away anytime soon, but it’s possible that their Internet business, which for a long time has been seen as their safest market, may now no longer be that.
Look for Comcast, Spectrum, and other cable TV companies to look for new markets like wireless services. Exactly what that means in the long run is likely something even these companies do not currently know.
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