kal wrote:More on Shaw's situation:
-seems the company lost some 8000+ Internet subscribers in the quarter, not a good development
-lost about 27,000 TV subscribers
-lost 14,000 home phone subscribers
-gained almost 4000 satellite TV subscribers
-Wind (Shaw's recent acquisition) now has just over a million subscribers (ARPU of $36/month)
New development: launched WideOpen Internet 150: $50/month 1st y, $80/month second year, then $135/month thereafter. Supposedly this is a fibre-coax hybrid system.
Agreed - they've reached "peak subscriber" and are, like the population of Japan, in decline. I wouldn't touch Shaw as an investor with a 10' pole. (Not that'd I'd probably touch Corus either, though their Radio and Broadcast TV assets are attractive, the specialty TV nets
aren't). It's only going to accelerate as Telus and Bell aggressively roll out fibre-to-the-home networks and IPTV. I can't see how Shaw will be able to compete on speed with their coaxial cable system. And, Bell and Telus fibre are cheaper than Shaw. Shaw reminds me of the tobacco companies - limited in their subscriber growth (or now non-existent growth and, in fact, decline) - so they raise revenues by in increasing prices. And, Wind still isn't available outside the major cities. They need to...umm...build several thousand cell towers across the country, don't ya think!?
Rogers is a bit better because of their Wireless division, which is huge, and their Fido and/or co-branded MVNO partners seem to be growing.
Cheers,
Doug