How quickly things can change! Just ask the cable operators. A year ago, the group was flying high, amazing us all with its subscriber additions. But in the most recent quarter or two, as Time Warner Cable
For the quarter, the company saw a decline of 83,000 basic video subscribers. It's probably far from coincidental that about 80% of those departures occurred in markets like Los Angeles and Dallas, where competition from telephone companies Verizon
One result was that the company's net income was $248 million, which shook out to $0.25 a share. In the year-ago quarter, it earned $1.2 billion, or $1.20 a share. But the prior period included an after-tax gain of $949 million, which was tied to its acquisition of Adelphia cable systems.
But just so you don't think it was a completely sour quarter for Time Warner Cable, the company did add 128,000 digital video subscribers, 275,000 digital phone subs, and 224,000 high-speed data customers. Now almost half of its customers subscribe to at least two services.
The company -- whose parent Time Warner
The cable unit became a public company in February, when a 16% stake in the segment was used as part of a payment for cable systems acquired from Adelphia. There's growing speculation that Jeff Bewkes, who will probably replace Dick Parsons as Time Warner's CEO in January, will work to complete the cable unit's spinoff.
So, Fools, Time Warner Cable, the second-largest cable operator, joins industry leader Comcast
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