Intellectual Property Law

Insight Communications Struts Cable's Stuff

By Cynthia Brumfield

Small midwest cable operator Insight Communications issued selected Q2 08 financial and operating results (PDF) this morning and, in what is clearly becoming the surprising but so far consistent trend of this earning's season, posted strong subscriber growth across the board.

During the quarter, Insight, which serves around 700,000 core video customers in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, accelerated its growth in basic, digital, high-speed and voice customers. Insight added a net 3,800 basic customers, up from the 2,640 net adds during the year-ago quarter, to wrap up Q2 with 692,800 basic subscribers, representing around 53% of homes passed.

The operator added 9,200 digital video customers, up from the 9,000 net digital video adds during Q2 07, ending the quarter with 406,100 digital subscribers representing 61% of digital capable homes passed.

High-speed data advanced to 12,400, up from 11,300 net broadband adds during Q2 07, giving Insight 424,600 total broadband subscribers, representing 33% of broadband-enabled homes passed, by quarter's end.

Telephony net adds climbed to 18,700, up from the 10,500 net voice service adds during the year-ago quarter. Insight ended the quarter with 230,300 voice subscribers, representing a 19% penetration rate.

Insight's revenues rose 16% year-over-year to $214.8 million, while cash flow grew by 15% to $17 million.

Insight is the third operator in a row to post healthy Q2 08 customer gains (and is the only cable operator so far to post accelerating gains across the board) in the face of what should be market share erosion as phone companies, specifically AT&T and Verizon, ramp up their video competition initiatives. Not only have these cable operators seemingly checked the telco incursions into their core video businesses, but they have also continued to make healthy inroads into the phone companies' own core voice businesses while maintaing strong growth momentum in high-speed data subscriptions even as growth in telco-delivered broadband services has dramatically dropped.

Full post as published by IP Democracy on August 04, 2008 (boomark / email).