The article, written by Deborah Yao, claims that despite a dismal 2007 in which the cable companies took a beating, "cable is seeing a rebound as Wall Street put more weight on their gains in high-speed Internet and digital voice rather than focusing mainly on their traditional video services."
According to Peter Stern, chief strategy officer of Time Warner Cable, the basic elements of the business have changed.
"If you looked at us about 10 to 12 years ago, 100 percent of our revenues were derived from analog video. If you look at the business today, almost 50 percent of our revenues are now derived from businesses beyond that of analog video," he told the Associated Press.
Having long since expanding into non-traditional cable territory such a providing highly competitive unlimited domestic phone service, the cable companies now plan on ramping up their Internet, High Definition and mobile services.
Companies like Time Warner are also ncreasing investment in user-experience enhancement technologies like switched-digital technology, which "sends viewers only the channels they choose to watch, to make space for more high-definition channels."
The gambits are paying off thus far. According to the article, Comcast shares are up 21 percent after falling 57 percent in 2007 and Time Warner shares are up 10 percent this year, making up some ground after losing 33 percent last year.
