Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

The Triple-Play Bundle Is Dead, But This Surprisingly Popular Bundle Just Might Stop Cable Companies' Bleeding

Market research outfit Parks Associates offers up a glimpse of the bundle's penetration: As of the end of the first quarter of this year, 19% of U.S. broadband subscribers also enjoy wireless/mobile service offered by the same provider.

It's not a lot, admittedly. But put it in perspective. Charter's Spectrum only began offering mobile phone service in mid-2018. It now serves nearly 2.7 million mobile customers. Comcast's Xfinity Mobile platform only launched in mid-2017, and it's already signed up 3.1 million wireless subscribers. The portion of domestic broadband customers who have bundled their high-speed internet service with a mobile plan has grown from only around 11% in early 2019, according to Parks Associates' data, to the aforementioned current figure of 19%.

Parks Associates indicates the average cost of a broadband/mobile combo is $128 per month. With stand-alone broadband service costing an average of $64 per month, the other $64 of the combo's total cost is on par with a typical wireless service plan's monthly cost. Although the mobile service arena is highly competitive, at least we know that all the major names in the mobile telecom business are profitable. Given how the cable television industry has been on the defensive for years, conversely, it's not always clear if there's still any real profit to be gleaned by being in the business.

From the article, "The Triple-Play Bundle Is Dead, But This Surprisingly Popular Bundle Just Might Stop Cable Companies' Bleeding" by James Brumley. 

Previously In The News

Roku's New $30 Express Box Is The Cheapest Roku Yet

The lower end of the streaming video market is one of the fastest growing segments for the company, Roku says, both in its line of relatively inexpensive Roku TVs and its separate streaming media devi...

Everyone Is Sharing Passwords And Streaming Services Know It

While it doesn’t appear that streaming networks are going to crack down on sharing just yet, that could change if revenue from subscriptions decrease. In fact, industry analyst Parks Associates tel...

Feds break up alleged streaming password theft scheme

Netflix and other streaming services have dealt with a variety of password-stealing schemes and other scams for years. Netflix announced earlier this year it was trying to crack down on password-shari...

Why Cell Phone Service From Your Cable Company May Make Sense

"Plans from Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile are generally much less expensive than comparable plans from the major mobile brands," says Kristen Hanich, senior analyst at the market research firm Pa...