Charter Communications Inc. is raising the price of its broadband service by $5 starting in August, the second such increase in nine months as the cable giant posted virtually no revenue growth in the second quarter.
The company is hoping the increase can boost the top line to help offset “headwinds” from the continued loss of TV customers and the potential defections when the one-year promotional period for free mobile service expires in October, Chief Financial Officer Jessica Fischer told analysts on a call Friday to discuss financial results.
Charter reported $13.66 billion in revenue in the second quarter, missing the $13.84 billion Wall Street estimate, and ending at least 10 years of single-digit or better sales growth. The shares slid about 2%.
The price hike won’t apply to customers on promotional plans and a new autopay discount of $5 could neutralize the increase, executives said.
Charter added 77,000 broadband customers and added 648,000 mobile phone lines in the second quarter, but lost 200,000 TV customers.
Cable peer Comcast Corp. also lost TV and internet customers in the second quarter yet still impressed on profit. The sector has been struggling to find new cable hookups during the slowdown in US home sales and is losing market share to wireless companies that are selling lower-priced internet access by beaming it into homes.
