U.S. Broadband Subs Surpass Cable-TV Customers

DURHAM: First the first time ever, the top U.S. cable companies now have more Internet broadband subscribers than pay-TV customers, according to new figures from analytics firm Leichtman Research Group.

The 17 largest cable and TV providers in the U.S. gained some 385,000 net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in the second quarter. These top providers now account for more than 85.9 million subs, with top cable companies having nearly 50.7 million broadband subscribers and top telephone companies having more than 35.2 million subs.

Overall, broadband additions in Q2 were up 130 percent on the prior-year period. The top cable companies added about 380,000 subscribers, representing 128 percent of the net additions for the top cable companies in the second quarter of 2013.

For the top cable providers, the number of broadband subs was about 49.915 million at the end of Q2, compared to about 49.91 million cable-TV subs.

AT&T and Verizon added 627,000 subs via U-verse and FiOS, while having a net loss of 636,000 DSL subscribers. The top cable broadband providers have a 59 percent market share versus the top telcos.

"With the addition of more than 30 million broadband subscribers over the past decade, cable providers have clearly expanded well beyond their roots in cable TV service," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. "As of the end of 2Q 2014, the top cable providers now have more broadband subscribers than cable-TV subscribers."