Yahoo Finance Charter Lost 100,000 Customers From Its Dispute With Disney
(Bloomberg) -- Charter Communications Inc. lost about 100,000 cable subscribers due to its dispute with Walt Disney Co., in which customers were unable to view ESPN or other Disney-owned channels for 10 days at the end of the summer.
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The blackout meant Charter’s pay-TV customers, who get its service under the Spectrum brand in many major US cities, could not watch the US Open or other sporting events. The company disclosed the Disney-related number on a conference call with investors Friday.
In total, the No. 2 US cable provider lost 320,000 residential video subscribers in the third quarter, the company said in a statement. That was much more than the 230,000 loss analysts expected. Charter shares fell 9.7% to close at $372.
Read More: Charter Wins Streaming Services as Part of Disney Pay-TV Accord
Still, the company posted earnings of $8.25 per share, higher than the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg of $8.09, citing gains through strong pricing.
Charter has been working to boost its broadband business with bundles that include wireless phone service, even as traditional pay-TV customers depart. The company gained 594,000 mobile lines in the quarter. It also added 57,000 residential broadband customers, though that was short of the expected gain of 81,000. Charter’s main cable rival, Comcast Corp., also reported worse-than—expected broadband results Thursday.
As cable providers struggle, customers have flocked to wireless home internet service offered by Verizon Communications Inc. and T-Mobile US Inc. The two companies registered 941,000 fresh customers for the technology in the third quarter, and a combined 1.8 million in the first half of the year, according to statistics compiled by Bloomberg.
The service, also called fixed wireless, provides broadband via signals beamed directly to a home WiFi router, and is easy to deploy.
(Adds mobile phone adds for Charter in fifth paragraph.)
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