AT&T Broadband subs sink
Speculation about qtr. downturn pushes stocks lower
The cable giant, which has about 13 million subscribers, reported the decline as part of parent AT&T's quarterly earnings announcement. Speculation about the downturn in Broadband subscribers had pushed AT&T stock mildly lower on Monday.
AT&T Broadband reported an 8% increase in revenues for the quarter to roughly $2.55 billion -- down slightly from the 10% growth rate enjoyed in the second quarter. Parent AT&T swung modestly into the black after three quarters of consecutive losses.Separately, AT&T Broadband confirmed plans to cut 1,700 jobs -- about 4% of its total current workforce of 40,000 -- as part of cost-saving measures associated with its $72 billion mega-merger with rival cabler Comcast. The cuts had been expected (Daily Variety, Oct. 9).
Merger, which is seen clearing regulatory hurdles and closing by the end of this year, would create a cable-systems behemoth with more than 22 million subscribers.
Bucking the overall decline, AT&T's digital subscriber rolls swelled by 285,000 to 4.2 million. Cable companies have been pushing to migrate their subscriber bases to higher-end digital packages, which yield larger profit margins.
AT&T's stock price rose 52¢, or 4%, to $13.05 on Tuesday. Shares of Comcast, which is set to report its own third-quarter earnings next Monday, climbed $1.56, or 7%, to $23.62.
