Triple Play Succeeds for Comcast
According to a recent
Philadelphia Inquirer article, the bundling of cable TV with phone and Internet services has helped
Comcast pick up new voice customers and increase retention of its existing subscribers. Comcast's triple-play customers on average spend about $120 monthly with the company because many buy extra products and services such as digital video recorders and premium channels such as HBO.
Competitors like
DIRECTV and
Verizon are having a difficult time keeping up. Satellite packages often start at about $30 a month, almost eliminating the advantage that existed when cable companies offered only video for $50 and up monthly. While phone companies are slowly starting to offer television, they are years away from making it available to most customers.
According to Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen, telephone companies are blaming their slower growth on cable competition. Cohen recently told clients that, "AT&T;'s chief financial officer acknowledged on the company's second-quarter earnings call that the introduction of the triple play by cable operators into
AT&T; markets was negatively impacting subscriber growth."
Bundles also help Comcast boost customer loyalty. Comcast has been offering triple play to Boston customers longer than in any other market. The company gained about 1,000 subscribers in the second quarter, where last year it lost 16,000. For most customers, the competitive pricing of triple play and complicated process involved in switching back to their old phone-service provider keeps them with Comcast longer.
