Competition couldn’t be more evident this week. The poster child for cable’s triple play success, Comcast, announced lower financial guidance. The news pushed their stock price to a 20 month low. Comcast is feeling the heat from competitors, including Verizon and AT&T. Both Verizon and AT&T purport to be doing “thousands” of video installs per week. Those new installs represent both “churned” Comcast customers and potential Comcast customers who are no longer “available.” Both scenarios reduce Comcast’s growth and lead to the their sobering announcements of the week.
The Washington Post reports that Comcast is evaluating all of their options. They are even exploring marketing phone and Internet services to non-video customers. It represents a significant “cultural shift,” according to Comcast’s co-chief financial officer, Michael Angelakis. Indeed it is a significant shift, but one they will probably need to aggressively embrace. They are not alone. Telcos too will need to adjust their culture, and aggressively pursue non-telephone customers with attractive video and broadband options. Competition does that to you – it causes you to look in the mirror, and adjust accordingly.
