Charter rolls out a perk-filled Spectrum revamp to channel subscriber growth
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Missing the TV Guide days… Spectrum parent Charter Communications is the largest US pay-TV company, but it lost nearly 400K subscribers last quarter as folks keep ditching cable for streaming. Now Charter’s dishing out some updates to entice subscribers. Yesterday the internet and TV giant announced “Life Unlimited.” It sounds like a dystopian longevity hack but is actually a perk-filled marketing play aimed at retaining subs. Some highlights:
“I have to call Spectrum”: Charter wants to make that less dread-inducing. It said it’ll give Spectrum subscribers automatic payment credits for poor customer service or internet outages longer than two hours.
Bundle up for savings: Spectrum said it’ll offer a basic internet plan for as low as $30/month and boost baseline web-surfing speed at no extra cost.
Stream team: Charter’s new deal with Warner Bros. Discovery will give most of its cable subscribers access to Max and Discovery+ at no extra charge.
Broadband breakdown… 5M+ subscribers left the pay-TV ecosystem last year, opting for streaming services instead. Both Spectrum and Comcast-owned rival Xfinity have hiked internet plan prices this year to help make up for cable cord-cutting (cue: angry Reddit rants). Now, to curb unsubscribes, providers are racing to bulk up their internet and cable bundles and offer top content. After a nearly two-week blackout, DirectTV on Saturday reached a deal with Disney to bring back ESPN, ABC, and other Disney networks.
Paying for essentials isn’t fun… Signing up for cable and internet can be a pricey headache, but Spectrum’s trying to reset its reputation with perks like streaming and payment credits. Traditional TV and internet providers may have to keep piling on the perks to compete in a crowded market: Verizon and AT&T are starting to eat up market share, and streaming’s still devouring cable’s cake.