Cord Cutting 2.0 Accelerates as Comcast and Spectrum Lose Over 700,000 Internet and TV Customers

Comcast’s domestic results showed a net loss of 144,000 residential broadband customers, reducing its U.S. residential internet base to 28.343 million. The decline was steeper than the 91,000 customers lost in the same quarter a year earlier. On the video side, Comcast shed 274,000 domestic video customers, bringing the total to 10.394 million. Overall domestic residential customer relationships decreased by 139,000. Company filings and earnings materials attributed the broadband pressure to aggressive promotions from fiber providers and fixed-wireless alternatives, as well as an elevated volume of customers reaching the end of promotional pricing periods. Connectivity and platforms revenue for the quarter fell 2.7 percent, with residential connectivity and platforms revenue down 3.5 percent. Domestic broadband revenue specifically declined 4.7 percent.

The combined third-quarter losses continue a multi-year pattern in which traditional cable operators have seen both pay-television and broadband subscribers migrate to alternative services. Internet declines have accelerated as consumers gain access to lower-priced or higher-speed options from fiber builders and wireless carriers offering fixed-wireless access. Television erosion reflects the long-running shift toward streaming services that deliver live and on-demand programming without traditional cable contracts or equipment fees. Both companies partially offset the subscriber losses with growth in their mobile wireless businesses. Spectrum added 508,000 mobile lines, ending the quarter with 13.5 million, while Comcast added 368,000 domestic wireless lines, reaching 10.555 million. These wireless additions provide higher-margin revenue and help retain some broadband customers through bundling, yet they have not fully compensated for the declines in the core internet and video bases.

Cord Cutting 2.0 describes the next phase of consumer defection from traditional cable companies, in which households are no longer just canceling pay-TV packages in favor of streaming but are also abandoning or switching away from cable broadband internet itself. While the original cord cutting wave focused on television, this newer trend is driven by the rapid expansion of alternative high-speed internet options—particularly fiber-optic services from phone companies and fixed-wireless home internet from wireless carriers. These competitors often undercut cable on price, offer simpler contracts, or provide comparable or better speeds in many markets, prompting customers to drop their cable internet subscriptions entirely or move to new providers. As a result, companies like Comcast and Spectrum are now experiencing simultaneous declines in both video and broadband customers, marking a deeper challenge to the cable industry’s traditional dual revenue streams.

Financial results reflected the subscriber trends. Spectrum’s pro forma total revenue fell 1.5 percent to $16.5 billion, driven mainly by lower residential internet and video customer counts. Comcast reported consolidated revenue of $29.298 billion, down 6.1 percent, with free cash flow declining 14.8 percent. Both operators have emphasized efforts to stabilize the bases through simplified pricing, multi-year price guarantees, and closer integration of wireless and broadband offerings. The scale of the combined losses—nearly three-quarters of a million internet and television customers in a single quarter—illustrates the structural challenges facing the two largest U.S. cable providers as competitive alternatives expand and consumer preferences continue to shift.