Time Warner Cable reported losing a modest number of basic subscribers in its fourth quarter of 2007, but the MSO said that the subscribers it has are buying more services, leading to increased revenues.

The acquisition of several systems padded subscriber numbers, but TWC was still subject to industry trends; it lost a few basic subscribers but compensated by selling more products in bundles. TWC said much of its growth came from the Los Angeles and Kansas City systems it recently acquired and upgraded.

The company lost 4,000 customer relationships from Q3 to Q4, leaving it with a total of 14.6 million.

Total revenue generating units (RGUs) were up by 591,000 – to 32.1 million.

At the end of the fourth quarter, nearly 7.1 million customers (48 percent of the total) subscribed to two or more services, a net addition of 199,000 during the quarter. Of the 7.1 million, 2.4 million subscribed to the triple-play offering.

TWC ended the year with eight million digital video subscribers (61 percent penetration), with a net addition of 168,000 during the fourth quarter.

The company added 214,000 residential high-speed data subscribers to reach a total of 7.6 million (29 percent penetration of service-ready homes passed). VoIP subs increased by 285,000 – a quarterly record for TWC – to reach a total of 2.9 million (12 percent penetration of service-ready homes passed).

Subscription revenue was up $4 billion, to $15.1 billion; video revenue was up $2.5 billion, to $10.2 billion; high-speed data revenue was up $974 million, to $3.7 billion; and voice revenue climbed $478 million, to $1.2 billion.

TWC’s parent, Time Warner, reported a 41 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit, a result skewed by the one-time profit derived a year ago from the sale of AOL's European online access business. Time Warner said adjusting for that sale would reveal a 17 percent increase of profit, largely driven by cable results and its film business.

AOL continues to be a drag on Time Warner. The company has been under pressure to sell the unit.

Analysts noted that Time Warner might be the biggest loser should Microsoft buy Yahoo because that would eliminate not one, but two likely potential customers for the AOL unit.

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