Time Warner Cable, deep in the approval process for its pending merger with Comcast, reported in a mixed second quarter Thursday, with basic video subscriber and high-speed data customer additions beating year-over-year marks, but missing analysts’ consensus estimates.
TWC lost 147,000 basic video customers in the quarter, a 22% improvement over the same period last year, but far short of analysts’ consensus estimates of a loss of 99,000 video customers. The second largest cable operator in the country added 86,000 high-speed data customers in the period, a significant improvement over last year’s 21,000 additions, but again short of consensus estimates of 105,000 additions.
Revenue for the period was up 3.2% to $5.7 billion and adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization increased 1% to $2.1 billion.
Basic video improvement –TWC said it was its best second quarter showing in four years– were fueled in part by satellite and telco video customers in the Los Angeles market switching to TWC service to SportsNetLA, the regional sports network that carries Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball games. The LA region was Time Warner Cable’s best performing market in terms of video customers, chairman and CEO Rob Marcus said on a call with analysts. But he urged analysts not to read too much into the RSN’s role in that improvement, adding that reduced churn and customer retention efforts also helped drive video performance.
