Comcast, the parent company of MSNBC, saw its shares plunge this past week as the company said it expected a record drop-off of subscribers for its Xfinity cable and internet service.
The selloff of shares began on Thursday when Matthew Strauss, a Comcast vice-president for Xfinity, told a Merrill Lynch media conference that the company was bracing for a dramatic loss of 100,000 to 150,000 subscribers in the third quarter of this year.
Shares had closed Wednesday at over $41 a share, but Thursday’s announcement led to a 7 percent price decline -- the biggest drop in share price since 2011. Comcast shares closed Friday at $38.21.
Comcast owns MSNBC, the left-leaning network that has taken a strident editorial position against President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
Strauss claimed that increased competition and the impact of Hurricane Harvey had undercut the company’s marketing efforts and ability to retain customers.
Strauss admitted Xfinity is facing its "most competitive quarter" ever. The Philadelphia Inquirer said the cable service is being hurt as competitors are "bundling TV and internet services with their wireless phones as they compete for wireless market share with T-Mobile."
The Inquirer noted that Xfinity is particularly threatened by AT&T and Verizon who have been targeting communities that Comcast services, often with less expensive options for cable, telephone and wireless services.
The equity damage to Comcast of Xfinity subscriber losses could be staggering.
Last year Altice bought Cablevision with 3.1 million subscribers for $17.7 billion or approximately $5400 per subscriber.
With that same value, if Xfinity were to lose 150,000 subscribers, its parent Comcast could see $800 million in equity disappear in a single quarter.