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Comcast president bemoans broadband customer losses: “We are not winning”

Exec says lack of "price transparency and predictability" drove customers away.

Jon Brodkin – | 116
A Comcast logo displayed on a smartphone screen with a stock chart in the background.
Credit: Getty Images | Cheng Xin
Credit: Getty Images | Cheng Xin
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Comcast executives apparently realized something that customers have known and complained about for years: The Internet provider's prices aren't transparent enough and rise too frequently.

This might not have mattered much to cable executives as long as the total number of subscribers met their targets. But after reporting a net loss of 183,000 residential broadband customers in Q1 2025, Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said the company isn't "winning in the marketplace" during an earnings call today. The Q1 2025 customer loss was over three times larger than the net loss in Q1 2024.

While customers often have few viable options for broadband and the availability of alternatives varies widely by location, Comcast faces competition from fiber and fixed wireless ISPs.

"In this intensely competitive environment, we are not winning in the marketplace in a way that is commensurate with the strength of the network and connectivity products that I just described," Cavanagh said. "[Cable division CEO] Dave [Watson] and his team have worked hard to understand the reasons for this disconnect and have identified two primary causes. One is price transparency and predictability and the other is the level of ease of doing business with us. The good news is that both are fixable and we are already underway with execution plans to address these challenges."

The 183,000-subscriber loss lowered Comcast's residential Internet subscribers to 29.19 million. Comcast also reported a first-quarter drop of 17,000 business broadband subscribers, lowering that category's total to 2.45 million.

Comcast's stock price fell 3.7 percent today even though its overall profit beat analyst expectations and domestic broadband revenue rose 1.7 percent year over year to $6.56 billion—a sign that Comcast is extracting more money from customers on average. "Analysts peppered Comcast executives with questions on Thursday regarding its Xfinity-branded broadband and mobile, and how the company will pivot the business," CNBC wrote.

“We are simplifying our pricing”

Cavanagh said that Comcast plans to make changes in marketing and operations "with the highest urgency." This means that "we are simplifying our pricing construct to make our price-to-value proposition clearer to consumers across all broadband segments," he said.

Comcast last week announced a five-year price guarantee for broadband customers who sign up for a new package. Comcast said customers will get a "simple monthly price starting as low as $55 per month," without having to enter a contract, giving them "freedom and flexibility to cancel at any time without penalty." The five-year guarantee also comes with one year of Xfinity Mobile at no charge, Comcast said.

The price guarantee is for new residential broadband customers only. The fine print notes that taxes and fees are extra and "subject to change" during the five-year period. A CNET article said the prices for plans with a five-year lock range from $55 to $105, which is higher than the 12-month promotional prices for the same plans. But the price rises significantly after the promotional period, so the five-year lock should be a better deal in the long term.

Additional offers are in the works, Cavanagh said. "We are not done. Providing more value to our customers with less complexity and friction is a top priority and you will see our go-to-market approach continue to evolve over the coming months," he said.

Comcast investors shouldn't expect an immediate turnaround, though. "We anticipate that it will take several quarters for our new approach to gain traction and impact the business in a meaningful way," Cavanagh said.

Mobile rises, video falls

Many Comcast customer complaints center on unexpected price increases. Comcast's FAQ on price changes advises customers facing price increases that their bills rose because Comcast needs to invest in network upgrades, and that even promotional prices can rise because of changes to fees that are in addition to the base price.

Comcast is also focused on growing the number of subscribers in its mobile business, Cavanagh said. Comcast added 323,000 mobile lines in the first quarter, raising its total to 8.15 million. Comcast offers wireless connectivity through the Verizon network and markets mobile service in bundles with home Internet.

Comcast lost 427,000 video customers in the first quarter, dropping the total to 12.1 million and continuing a long downward trend. While Comcast seems more focused on reversing the broadband customer losses, the lack of pricing transparency can be even more frustrating for Comcast's cable TV users.

Comcast and other TV providers have for many years tacked on Broadcast TV and Regional Sports Network fees that make a customer's bill much higher than the advertised price. The Federal Communications Commission voted last year to require cable and satellite TV companies to start advertising "all-in" prices instead of using hidden fees to conceal the full cost of video service. But that rule could be put on the chopping block as the new FCC leadership plans to eliminate many regulations, and the cable lobby identified the rule as one that should be axed.

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Jon Brodkin Senior IT Reporter
Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry.
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