Providing market intelligence for more than 35 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 early success magnifies Blue Apron, Snap failures

Investors are still apparently eager for more as the company continues to pivot toward a services-based model from its current focus making boxes for streaming television—a focus that, so far, has bee...

The Best Wearable Fitness Tech We Saw At CES 2017

It’s one of the biggest arms races of the 21st century—literally. Once the preserve of hardcore fitness junkies, the activity tracker industry has exploded into the mainstream and is now set to surpas...

Percentage Of TV Antenna Households Doubles

The percentage of U.S. homes getting live TV channels through antenna has nearly doubled since 2013, to 15 percent of homes in 2016, according to Parks & Associates. Several factors contributed to the...

Report: Pay-TV Subscriptions to Drop 27% by 2024; Streaming Apps to Pick Up the Slack

Pay-TV services are showing their age as subscribership continues to fall, leading to a projected 76.7 million subscriber decrease by 2024, according to a report by Parks Associates. This drop wou...