• by Wayne Friedman , August 15, 2014

Traditional cable operators that have steadily expanded their new media/digital business have finally achieved a new eye-opening benchmark: more broadband customers and video customers.

In the second quarter of this year, top U.S. cable companies now have a collective 50.7 million broadband subscribers versus 49.9 million video subscribers, according to the Durham, N.H.-based Leichtman Research Group.

Continued declines in the number of video subscribers contributed to these results -- of 509,954 video subs in the quarter that ended in June.

Leichtman says 17 of the U.S. largest cable and telephone companies -- representing about 93% of the market -- acquired nearly 385,000 net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in the second quarter of 2014.

Looking at broadband, cable now has a 59% share of the business versus the telco companies. Top broadband providers now account for over 85.9 million subscribers -- 50.7 million broadband subscribers for cable companies and 35.2 million broadband customers for top telephone companies.

Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, said: "With the addition of more than 30 million broadband subscribers over the past decade, cable providers have clearly expanded well beyond their roots in cable TV service.”