Cable and broadband giant Charter Communications trimmed its losses from pay-TV customers as it reported first-quarter results on Friday.
The company, led by President and CEO Chris Winfrey, shed 51,000 residential video subscribers during the first quarter, compared to a loss of 167,000 residential video customers during the same period last year. Charter posted a rare gain of 44,000 pay TV subscriptions during the fourth quarter of 2025 amid continued cord-cutting across the industry.
The company previously added its streaming apps for programmers in its expanded basic Spectrum packages to reduce disruption and saw an uptick in subscriptions when Disney Channels were not available to YouTube TV subscribers during the recent carriage dispute. Charter had 12.5 million pay-TV customers at the end of the first quarter, down 1.3 percent from the previous year’s 12.7 million.
The company also shed 120,000 online customers during the fourth quarter, compared to a decline of 59,000 customers in the first quarter of 2025. This was offset by the charter adding 368,000 total mobile lines, versus growth of 507,000 Spectrum Mobile lines in the same period last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders fell 4.4 percent to $1.2 billion, while first-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion fell 1 percent from $13.7 billion a year earlier.
Overall, Charter had 29.4 million residential customers using Internet, mobile, video and other products at the end of the first quarter, down 1.5 percent from the prior year’s 29.9 million total subscribers.
“We remain confident in our ability to win in the market and grow over the long term,” Winfrey said in a statement before a morning analyst call to discuss first-quarter financial results. “This confidence is built on our advanced network, our core operating strategy of offering great products at great prices and our focus on increasing customer satisfaction.”
