Triple-play is an important part of business strategy for cable operators like Comcast. Triple-play refers to the bundling of three services (1) TV (2) broadband internet, and (3) telephone. Telcos like AT&T and Verizon have increasingly been able to match cable operators by introducing TV and broadband internet services of their own which they bundle with their phone services.
Furthermore, telcos can also bundle their mobile phone services leading to what is known as quadruple-play. In order to be able to counter that threat, Comcast has been looking to explore mobile options. Comcast has been using Clearwire’s platform to deliver mobile broadband to customer PCs and could potentially use the same platform to deliver mobile phone service in the future. Doing so would still require Comcast to build out mobile phone infrastructure and win subscribers from existing mobile phone incumbents.
An alternative strategy is for Comcast to acquire a mobile operator. Sprint, the third largest US mobile operator, is an obvious candidate due the absence of Sprint broadband and TV services that would overlap with those of Comcast. Spint is also struggling with maintaining customers in the face of competition from Verizon and AT&T. An acquisition by Comcast could make Sprint’s bundled offerings more attractive.
Acquiring Sprint would give Comcast a subscriber base of just under 30 million subscribers. Such a deal would also help Comcast win more pay TV and broadband internet subscribers because of the bundling effect of quadruple play. Currently, the cable operator’s market share has been stagnating in both the markets as a result of increased competition.
Within Comcast’s content on our platform, you can see the impact on Comcast’s stock price if Comcast acquires Sprint resulting in Comcast Pay TV Market Share and Comcast Broadband Market Share going up more than projected.
