By Harshita Mary Varghese
(Reuters) -Comcast reported a larger-than-expected quarterly decline in broadband customers on Thursday, hit by intense competition from wireless carriers bundling mobile services with high-speed internet plans, sending its shares down 6%.
Broadband customers decreased by 199,000 in the first quarter, higher than the 139,000 losses Comcast reported in the last three months of 2024.
FactSet analysts had expected the company to shed 146,100 broadband customers.
The competitive environment remains intense in broadband with wireless carriers marketing their plans aggressively, Comcast said.
The media giant responded in mid-April with new pricing plans along with five-year price locks for new broadband customers to stem the churn in its Xfinity Internet service.
“Comcast’s new plans will undoubtedly improve on the results they reported this morning. However, it looks like broadband market growth is just slower than it has been, and competition in a slowing market is tough,” New Street Research analyst Jonathan Chaplin said.
Comcast is awaiting the launch of its “Epic Universe” theme park next month in Orlando, Florida, to lift demand for the business.
“Ticket sales and advance plans for Epic Universe are a little ahead of our expectations,” Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said.
Revenue at the theme park business fell 5.2% to $1.88 billion in the first quarter, as the Los Angeles wildfires in January impacted several services in Hollywood.
Studio revenue rose 3% to $2.83 billion, helped by the success of films “Wicked” and “Nosferatu” released in the fourth quarter.
Streaming service Peacock reported an adjusted core loss of $215 million, narrower than $639 million reported a year earlier.
Total paid subscribers at Peacock rose to 41 million, compared with 36 million at the end of last year, helped by its distribution deal with Charter Communications last year.
Total revenue of $29.89 billion beat estimates of $29.77 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
