Last week we reported on the long, slow death of television and how Comcast, DirecTV, and Time Warner Cable had lost thousands of subscribers.
During the second quarter, cable providers often experience a decrease in subscriptions as summer is the prime time to plan a move and college students cancel their cable subscriptions.
But not all cable companies are suffering. Cablevision Systems just reported a strong second quarter that looks like it came straight from the 1980s: It actually increased numbers for hard-wired telephone subscribers.
(Revenue rose 0.5 percent to $1.70 billion. Net income was $63.8 million, a decrease from their $87.8 million this time last year.)
High speed data subscriptions rose by 25,000, with a total of 3.3 million customers, while subscriptions for telephone subscriptions now sit at 2.4 million, after a 23,000 increase. Cable video subs were flat, and therefore better than the declines being seen at other operators.
In part, it's about pricing: Earlier in 2011, Jim Dolan, CEO of Cablevision, announced that rates for the triple-play package and hardware would remain untouched throughout 2012. In comparison, Verizon, their main rival, saw marginal price increases on their FiOS TV programming and equipment packages.
"We are continuing to invest in our operations to ensure that we are offering the best products and service to our customers,” Dolan announced. “Our focus on transforming the way we operate has never been stronger.”
Meanwhile, normality appears to be in full effect at Charter Communications. The fourth largest American cable operator saw a 4.7% rise in revenue to $1.88 billion, despite a loss of 66,000 basic cable subscribers.
Tom Rutledge, CEO and President of Charter, announced, "we delivered solid second quarter performance while implementing key aspects of our growth strategy. In addition to enhancing our product set and launching new pricing and packaging, we're putting into action a number of operational changes to best align the organization with our growth objectives. These actions will make us more competitive, deliver a powerful customer experience and increase our long-term growth potential."
SEE ALSO: It's not just Comcast; DirecTV and Time Warner Cable have also lost thousands of subscribers >
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