Wide Open West (WOW!) continued to shed broadband subs in Q2 but noted fiber progress across its greenfield and edge-out builds – reaching 16,900 new homes passed as of July.
CEO Teresa Elder said that number is “more than we've added in the last three years combined” and that WOW! is on track to pass more than 50,000 locations in 2023. However, the operator lost 4,900 overall broadband subscribers in the quarter as well as 900 high speed data (HSD) customers.
The latter figure was “better than expected,” Elder said on the earnings call, and WOW! still ended Q2 with approximately 508,000 HSD subscribers. She anticipates the HDS customer base will return to growth this year, noting 87% of new customers in Q2 purchased HSD only.
“Our high-speed data only selling mix showed that a record high of 91% of our customers, new customers are buying speeds of 200 meg or above, and approximately 82% are taking speeds above 500 meg, including further momentum in customers taking our 1.2 gig service,” she said.
As for greenfield and edge-out penetration, Elder said while WOW!’s greenfield markets – located across Florida, South Carolina and Alabama – “are at 20% penetration in aggregate, they are averaging penetration rates of 30% in 30 days from launch” and currently consist of 800 subscribers.
2023 edge-outs, on the other hand, have a 23.4% penetration rate and those projects include 1,800 subscribers.
“Already this year, we have built nearly six times more homes than all of last year, and well more than the last three years combined,” Elder stated. “We are driving subscriber growth faster in those markets than we've planned.”
Financials
Consolidated revenue of $172.6 million declined 2% year on year, with total subscription revenue also dropping 2% to $160.4 million, which was driven by declines in video and telephony customers.
WOW! posted a net loss of $101.7 million, compared to a net income of $4 million in Q2 2022. CFO John Rego said the loss was due to a non-cash impairment charge the company took as a result of its stock price decline in the quarter.
WOW! in Q2 spent $23 million on greenfields, $3.7 million on edge-outs and an additional $3.7 million on business services, Rego added.