Time Warner Cable cut its video subscriber losses dramatically in the first quarter, fueled by targeted promotions and its new TWC Maxx customer care initiative.
The second largest cable operator in the country finished the period with 11.2 million customers, down about 34,000 for the quarter. The tally was less than one-fifth the 217,000 video subscriber losses the MSO recorded in the fourth quarter of 2013 and almost a quarter less than the 119,000 video customers lost in Q1 2013.
High speed data subscribers increased by 269,000 in the period (compared to 131,000 in Q1 2013) and voice additions were 107,000 (compared to a loss of 35,000 for Q1 2013. The company also said residential customer relationships grew by 148,000 – the most in more than seven years.
Revenue for the period was up 2% to $5.6 billion and adjusted operating income before depreciation and taxes increased 3.6% to about $2 billion.
TWC said it launched its TWC Maxx all-digital initiative—which includes offering data speeds as high as 300 Megabits per second—in parts of New York and Los Angeles in the quarter, which helped results.
“I’m very pleased with our performance this quarter," TWC chairman and CEO Rob Marcus (pictured) said in a statement. “Our residential subscriber growth was the best in five years and our business services revenue growth was close to 25 percent. These results underscore our commitment to deliver on our financial and operating plan as we prepare for our merger with Comcast.”
