Spectrum, which is operated by Charter Communications, continues to lose customers at a rapid pace, despite recent efforts to slow down the alarming trend.
During the third quarter of this year, Spectrum lost 70,000 cable TV customers, according to Charter’s latest earnings report. The decline comes as many consumers nationwide flock to streaming services, which allow users to watch TV shows and movies at a lower monthly price than traditional cable.
Spectrum also lost a whopping 109,000 internet customers during the quarter after gradually increasing its internet prices over the past year, frustrating customers.
The loss in cable and internet customers comes after it rolled out “a new and simplified pricing strategy” in September of last year. This strategy offers customers internet for a starting price of $30 a month when bundled with mobile or video services. Pricing plans for internet services are also guaranteed for up to three years.
Spectrum also recently upgraded its video packages to include over $100 worth of streaming apps, such as HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu and Peacock, at no additional cost. This move aims to help Spectrum retain not only cable customers, but also internet customers.
Image source: Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Charter CEO flags reasons why Spectrum internet customers are fleeing
During an earnings call on Oct. 31, Charter CEO Chris Winfrey attributed the lack of growth and loss of internet customers to several factors. He first flagged current challenges in the U.S. housing market.
“We have a really muted housing environment,” said Winfrey. “There’s slow household formation and low move rates.”
Since 2022, the average 30-year mortgage rate in the U.S. has remained above 6%, leading many consumers to delay purchasing new homes as affordability declines. However, the housing market recently took a slight positive turn.
U.S. housing market performance in September 2025:
- The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in September was 6.35%, down from 6.59% in August.
- Existing-home sales increased by 1.5% month over month in September.
- Specifically, month-over-month U.S. home sales rose in the Northeast, South, and West, while falling in the Midwest.
Sources: National Association of Realtors, Freddie Mac
“Inventory is matching a five-year high, though it remains below pre-COVID levels,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a press release.
Winfrey also said that fixed wireless internet (5G home internet), which provides internet access to remote or underserved areas at a price typically lower than traditional internet services, is a growing threat that’s impacting Spectrum’s business.
While phone carriers such as T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T all offer this service, Winfrey said AT&T, in particular, is rapidly expanding its home internet footprint, making it a major competitor.
“Competitively, there’s more footprint expansion from cell phone internet, particularly from AT&T,” said Winfrey. “There’s no secret. Some others have varying results on the residential fixed wireless access or cell phone internet, but AT&T is new to the space with expanding coverage. You take a look at our overlap with 1 gigabit or higher competition, it’s grown.”
Related: Spectrum launches bold new offer as cable TV customers flee
AT&T’s internet business is indeed gaining popularity among consumers. During the third quarter of this year, AT&T added 270,000 new AT&T Internet Air (fixed wireless internet) customers and welcomed 288,000 AT&T Fiber internet customers, according to its latest earnings report.
It is no surprise that consumers nationwide are flocking to AT&T and other fixed wireless internet providers in large numbers. Many traditional internet providers have increased their prices for services over the past year, and consumers nationwide are frustrated with the resulting higher monthly bills.
How U.S. consumers are responding to rising internet prices:
- About 43% of consumers said the cost of their internet service increased the most in 2024 compared to other home services.
- The average price hike for internet services was $20.78 per month.
- Additionally, 59% reported feeling misled by the pricing or terms of their internet plan.
- Nearly 3 in 4 people canceled, downgraded, or considered switching internet providers due to high prices.
Source: Reviews.org
“Although 5G home internet technically isn’t faster than cable or fiber internet, it offers a lot of value,” said Peter Holslin, managing editor at Reviews.org, in the survey. “5G internet packages are typically sold at fixed rates, with no extra fees for installation or equipment, and you often get other perks too like unlimited data and bundle discounts when you pair it with a cell phone plan from the same provider.”
During the earnings call, Winfrey emphasized that Spectrum is more concerned about increased competition than elevated churn.
“The challenge that we’re facing right now isn’t so much on the churn side, although I think there’s real opportunity where that will just continue to get better,” said Winfrey. “The challenge we have is the operating environment. It remains competitive with new competitors and a macro environment that hasn’t gotten better.”
Spectrum makes bold changes to boost customer numbers
Winfrey shared that Spectrum has made several changes to deter customers from switching to rivals. All of the changes are designed to enhance the customer experience.
He said Spectrum has implemented the use of artificial intelligence to “identify and address service issues before they ever occur” and improve customer interactions. It has also invested in providing customers with speedier responses to service requests.
“For service visits, we’re moving our internal standard to arrive at your doorstep within two hours of the service call, and we’re now achieving that a large percentage of the time, all of which is helping to drive improved brand perception,” said Winfrey.
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Winfrey also said that the company will continue to roll out bundle deals for phone, internet and cable TV services, which have been successful in attracting customers.
“Our goal is to make sure that we have a unique and differentiated product that we can put in front of our connectivity customers in a way that generates new ways to market and acquire customers and has retention value, and it has value and utility for them,” he said. “To the extent a broadband customer wants that and values that, we’re going to attach that to the relationship. If they don’t, we won’t. We’ll just rely on the retention value of internet and mobile convergence on that front. It’s going well, but it’s still very early days.”
Despite the company doubling down on customer retention, Winfrey said Spectrum will not shy away from implementing future price increases.
“When you take a look at the Spectrum pricing and packaging that we rolled out last year, our ARPU and our pricing is low today versus our peers and competitors,” he said. “Because of that, we’ve always had, as you pointed out, probably a little more headroom than others. Given this macro environment, we’re not in a position to not pass through cost increases as they occur. That’s particularly the case with video. I wish that were different, but that’s the economic reality.”
Related: AT&T is suffering from an alarming customer problem
