How Cable Might Fare in the Recession

Cable operators such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable might be hurt during this economic downturn by fewer revenues from DVRs, high-definition channels, and premium channel subscriptions (such as HBO), but they should fare okay, according to Saturday's Wall Street Journal. There are some interesting factoids in the article worth noting:

• Comcast reported average monthly revenue per subscriber of $110.71 for the third quarter, 8.8% higher than the year-earlier number. Video accounts for about $64 of the number, up $3.20 from a year earlier, with $35 coming from Internet access and phone combined, up nearly $6.
• Only about $4 of per-subscriber monthly revenue at Comcast comes from DVR and HD revenue, estimates Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett, while pay per view contributes less.

Broadband and voice services are the real profit centers for cable right now, and we don't necessarily see consumers cutting the cord for these services right now.