About 700,000 add Broadband in the Third Quarter of 2014

Durham, NH -- November 18, 2014 -- Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) found that the seventeen largest cable and telephone providers in the US -- representing about 94% of the market -- acquired over 700,000 net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in the third quarter of 2014. These top broadband providers now account for 86.6 million subscribers -- with top cable companies having over 51.2 million broadband subscribers, and top telephone companies having nearly 35.4 million subscribers.

Other broadband findings include:

  • Overall, broadband additions in 3Q 2014 amounted to 135% of those in 3Q 2013
  • The top cable companies accounted for 83% of the net broadband additions for the quarter versus the top telephone companies
  • The top cable companies added about 580,000 subscribers, representing 133% of the net additions for the top cable companies in 3Q 2013
  • The top telephone companies added about 120,000 broadband subscribers in 3Q 2014 -- compared to a gain of about 80,000 in 3Q 2013
  • Over the past year, there were about 2,930,000 net broadband adds -- compared to about 2,540,000 over the prior year, and 2,925,000 two years ago

"Despite there being 86.6 million broadband subscribers in the US via major cable and Telco providers, the industry has added subscribers at a faster pace over the past year than it did over the prior year," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. "Over the past year, cable companies accounted for 86% of the 2.9 million net broadband adds."

 

Broadband Internet Subscribers at End 
of 3Q 2014
Net Adds in 
3Q 2014
Cable Companies
Comcast 21,586,000 315,000
Time Warner 12,073,000 108,000
Charter 4,956,000 106,000
Cablevision 2,756,000 (23,000)
Suddenlink 1,135,500 32,200
Mediacom 997,000 10,000
WOW (WideOpenWest)* 729,700 -
Cable ONE 486,142 3,417
Other Major Private Cable Companies** 6,505,000 30,000
Total Top Cable 51,224,342 581,617
Telephone Companies
AT&T 16,486,000 38,000
Verizon 9,146,000 69,000
CenturyLink 6,063,000 8,000
Frontier^ 1,922,000 21,500
Windstream 1,142,000 (11,800)
FairPoint 329,494 (3,927)
Cincinnati Bell 270,500 200
Total Top Telephone Companies 35,358,994 120,973
Total Broadband 85,583,336 702,590

Sources: The Companies and Leichtman Research Group, Inc. 
* Includes a small system sale, the Company did not report net adds on a pro forma basis 
** Includes LRG estimates for Cox, and Bright House Networks 
^ LRG estimate, does not include wireless subscribers 
Company subscriber counts may not represent solely residential households 
Totals reflect pro forma results from system sales and acquisitions 
Top cable and telephone companies represent approximately 94% of all subscribers

About Leichtman Research Group, Inc.

Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) specializes in research and analysis on broadband, media and entertainment industries. LRG combines on-going surveys and analysis with years of hands-on industry experience to provide companies with a richer understanding of the potential impact and adoption of new products and services. For more information about LRG, please call (603) 397-5400 or visitwww.LeichtmanResearch.com.

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