The results reflected a continued strategy on the part of both companies, also mirrored by some rivals, to appeal to what DirecTV in its earnings report called “higher-quality subscribers” — that is, customers who will stick around longer and pay more for monthly services. In the United States, DirecTV’s average revenue per household — a closely watched measure called ARPU within the industry — rose 4.6 percent, to $98.73. Time Warner Cable reported a 1.2 percent uptick in average revenue per household, to $105.21.
However, Time Warner Cable lost 191,000 television subscribers in the second quarter, somewhat more than analysts were predicting. The cable company, and others like it, have been losing TV market share to satellite providers including DirecTV and other rivals like Verizon FiOS for years. But for only the second time in its history, DirecTV lost television subscribers in the second quarter, a total of 84,000.
The second quarter of the year is typically the weakest for the whole industry. Nonetheless, the subscriber decline at DirecTV prompted new chatter about whether the much-hyped phenomenon of “cord cutting,” when households give up a bundle of products including television in favor of online streaming services like Netflix, was visible in the data.
DirecTV, for its part, attributed the decline to its effort to retain more profitable households, even at the risk of losing some that are less profitable. It also cited “a more challenging competitive environment and mature industry.” Roughly 100 million American households subscribe to some form of television; that number has remained remarkably stable for years, despite newfound competition on the Internet.
But an analysis by the Leichtman Research Group in May found that the country’s biggest television providers collectively lost about 80,000 subscribers in the 12-month period that ended in March, the first time that the researchers had ever counted an industrywide subscriber loss (rather than typical share-shifting between companies). The earnings reports this quarter are being scrutinized for further evidence of declines.
Time Warner Cable showed some weakness on the broadband Internet side of its business, too. Like other cable companies, it has relied on broadband growth to offset television subscriber slippage. In the second quarter it added a mere 8,000 home broadband subscribers. The company pledged to improve its performance.
Over all, DirecTV posted a profit of $660 million, or $1.18 a share, for the quarter, down from $711 million, or $1.09 a share, a year ago. Profits were up at Time Warner Cable, totaling $481 million, for the quarter, up from $452 million, or to $1.64 a share from $1.43 a share, a year ago. When one-time costs were excluded, earnings reached $1.69 a share, exceeding analysts’ expectations.
Time Warner Cable stock closed at $117.68 on Thursday, up more than 3 percent in part thanks to continued discussion of consolidation in the cable industry. John Malone, who holds a stake in a much smaller cable company, Charter, proposed a merger with Time Warner Cable this year.
On a conference call on Thursday, Glenn Britt, the departing Time Warner Cable chief executive, said the Wall Street speculation about any such deal “is really an endorsement of the value of our assets.” The DirecTV chief executive, Michael White, also addressed consolidation — in his case, between DirecTV and its smaller satellite rival Dish Network — on a conference call on Thursday. He suggested that the differences in DirecTV’s and Dish’s operating strategies made an immediate mash-up unlikely.
“But you never say never, and we’ll be opportunistic when the right moment arrives,” Mr. White added.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/02/business/media/directv-and-time-warner-cable-lose-subscribers-but-revenues-rise.html?partner=rss&emc=rss