• by Wayne Friedman , May 29, 2009

Comcast Corp chief executive Brian Roberts says the poor economy is still affecting business. Time Warner Cable has also noted a slowdown.

Concerning the second-quarter period, Roberts -- who runs the biggest cable TV operator in the U.S. -- says job cuts and fewer housing starts means "fewer opportunities to sell things." This comes on top of typical second-quarter subscriber performance for cable operators, when college students stop cable service for the summer.

"There's a general slowing of consumer expectations," says Roberts, in speaking at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Strategic Decisions Conference on Friday. "Are there college students or 25-year-olds who will say, 'I no longer need [cable]'? Anything's possible, but I don't see it."

At the same conference, Glenn Britt, CEO of Time Warner Cable, says the company has also seen a cutback in growth.

"We have seen more of a slowdown in digital [cable systems] than other areas," Britt says. "That's not surprising." Higher-priced digital cable TV packages are being cut by consumers more than cheaper services. "We have also seen the growth of DVR slowing down."

Local cable advertising has been hurt at Time Warner, similar to what has been going on industrywide, because of lower automotive advertising. "That has been unhealthy," Britt says. "It remains bad. [But] it is still a relatively small piece of our business."

Overall for Time Warner's main businesses -- video, phone, and the Internet -- Britt says "we have been relatively resistant to the downturn."

Media investors were a bit nervous on Friday, pushing Comcast's stock down 3% to around $13.77 in mid-day trading. Time Warner Cable -- the second-biggest cable operator in the U.S. -- was also pinched a bit, down 3% to $30.79.