On the Call: Comcast Cable President Neil Smit

PHILADELPHIA

Like other cable TV providers, Comcast Corp. is seeing declines in video subscribers.

In reporting second-quarter earnings Wednesday, the nation's largest cable company said it lost 265,000 video customers. That's higher than the 214,000 it lost in the same quarter in 2009. But video revenue still rose to $4.92 billion, up less than 1 percent.

Rate increases, pay-per-view orders and sign ups for the pricier digital cable packages offset the lost revenue from people leaving.

In a conference call with analysts, Comcast's president of cable operations, Neil Smit, talked about the reasons behind the loss of video customers.

QUESTION: Can you tell us where they are going? Are they going to the phone companies, to the satellite, or are they cutting the cord? Why are they leaving? Is it price or customer service or something else?

RESPONSE: We do, as customers are leaving, ask them why they are leaving and where they are going to. I think most of the customers who were leaving -- clearly satellite is our biggest competitor right now and that is a factor.

I think in terms of why ... you had (the national shift to digital TV transition last year) and these are relatively low price, single-play video customers. ... They are very price sensitive and generally churn at a higher rate.

I think as a whole, as to how we approach the business, we are not going to chase volume. We are going to remain very targeted and disciplined.