Cable broadband raking in more revenues than cable television

The role that the Internet has played in our lives has grown consistently ever since it was created. It used to be that broadband services were considered a luxury because of the high rates that providers charged for it. It used to be that most households could only afford a dial-up connection at best, but things have changed, and numerous users all over the world now have broadband connections installed in their homes.

The Internet was primarily regarded as a resource by many, especially students who would conduct their research online and browse through web journals instead of going to the library to look things up. Entrepreneurs and the rest of the working class used it to send files pertaining to work and communicate to employees, colleagues, and business partners.

Eventually, the technology was used for more than just work or research. Entertainment services began springing up, as did online gaming services. Instead of playing games on consoles, users would log on to services like OnLive to play them instead on the computer. More users also opted to stream media such as movies and television shows on their PCs instead of switching on the television instead of going to the theatre. In line with this, a possible question that could be posed is this: What service are users finding more useful nowadays–their broadband cable connections or their cable television subscriptions?

It was found recently that a huge bulk of Virgin Media’s revenues was from its broadband cable services. This was revealed in the firm’s quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Virgin Media posted revenues amounting to £685 million this year, which was slightly higher than last year’s figure of £662.6 million. Virgin Media attributed the increase to “selective” price increases in some of their service offerings, promotions for existing users, and discounts offered to new subscribers.

The rise in cable broadband revenue, however, was offset by decreased profits from mobile subscribers and from Virgin Media’s cable television division. In a statement, the company said: “In our consumer segment, cable customers account for the majority of our revenue.” The statement went on to say: “[Our] cable broadband Internet is more profitable than our television services.”

Source – The Register