Comcast Posts Steep Broadband and Video Losses, Plans Significant Job Cuts

Comcast lost 144,000 residential broadband customers in the third quarter, more than the 133,000 Wall Street had expected, while domestic video subscribers fell by 274,000, a decline nearly 7% steeper than a year earlier and worse than analysts had projected. The results underscore how both of the company's core consumer businesses are shrinking faster than anticipated.

A reorganization tied to the NBCUniversal spinoff

In response, Comcast is planning a significant round of job cuts as part of a broader restructuring of its cable-TV, broadband and wireless operations, with announcements potentially beginning within weeks. The company has framed the move as an effort to build a leaner workforce and free up cash for growth areas, rather than as a response to any single quarter's results.

The timing lines up with Comcast's planned spinoff of its NBCUniversal businesses next year, which will leave the remaining company more dependent on cable, broadband and wireless operations that are already under pressure. Cable subscribers continue drifting to streaming services, while Comcast's broadband business is losing ground to competing internet providers, a combination that has pushed the company to restructure ahead of operating as a standalone entity.