Cable giant Charter Communications has continued to experience a decline in its video subscriber base. It reported a loss of 393,000 residential pay TV subscribers in the latest quarter, under the leadership of CEO Chris Winfrey a significant increase from the 189,000 customers lost in the same period last year.
Furthermore, marking a 7.7 percent decline year-over-year the company’s video revenue for the second quarter reached $3.9 billion. With 13.3 million video customers, Charter concluded the quarter reflecting a 9.5 percent decrease from the previous year.
In the second quarter, Charter Communications saw a decline of 154,000 residential Internet customers, primarily due to the conclusion of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provided government subsidies to help low-income households save on monthly Internet packages. CEO Chris Winfrey mentioned that the company is striving to retain these subscribers despite the loss of the ACP’s up to $30 monthly discount.
Additionally, to retain TV content subscribers after experiencing declines in their video subscriber bases as consumers increasingly turn to streaming services, Charter Communications and Comcast, have launched their Xumo streaming platform. During a morning call with analysts, CEO Chris Winfrey highlighted that customers are making decisions “based on affordability.”
Notably, during the quarter, Paramount Global and Charter Communications finalized an extended distribution agreement. This deal not only continues the availability of Paramount’s suite of linear cable networks and CBS owned-and-operated broadcast stations but also introduces ad-supported Paramount+ with Showtime and BET+ Essential to Charter’s Spectrum TV customers at no additional cost for the first time.
CEO Chris Winfrey said, “We are executing well on several transformational initiatives, growing pre-tax earnings efficiencies, and improving our service and sales capabilities. We remain fully focused on driving customer growth, with a unique, high quality product set that continues to evolve, creating long term value for shareholders.”