ASSOCIATED PRESS: Number of Internet subscribers now outranks cable television subscribers.
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Number of Internet subscribers now outranks cable television subscribers.
Broadband subscribers surpassed cable this quarter. As of the end of March, there were 22.4 million customers for each.
The advent of streaming TV is reshaping the cable industry. It is slowly dripping video subscribers while Netflix adds more, and several online TV alternatives have launched in recent months. Meanwhile, costs are rising for the TV, movies and sports that cable companies transmit — Comcast’s programming expenses rose 7.8 percent last year, to $9.8 billion. Combining with Time Warner Cable might have helped Comcast gain leverage against media companies in negotiations over content costs.
