Comcast 2007 Annual Report Download - page 4

• other acquisitions of (i) Fandango, an online entertainment site
and movie-ticket service, in April 2007 and (ii) Rainbow Media
Holdings’ 60% interest in Bay Area SportsNet and its 50%
interest in Sports Channel New England, expanding our regional
sports networks, in June 2007
• repurchase of approximately 133 million shares of our Class A
common stock and Class A Special common stock under our
Board-authorized share repurchase program for approximately
$3.1 billion; in October 2007 our Board of Directors authorized a
$7 billion addition to the existing share repurchase program; as
of December 31, 2007 we had approximately $6.9 billion of
availability remaining under the share repurchase authorization
which we intend to utilize by the end of 2009, subject to market
conditions
We operate our businesses in an increasingly competitive, highly regulated and technologically complex environment. A substantial portion
of our revenues comes from residential subscribers whose spending patterns may be affected by prevailing economic conditions.
Intensifying competition and a weakening economy affected our net subscriber additions during the second half of 2007.
Description of Our Businesses
Cable Segment
The table below summarizes certain information for our cable operations as of December 31:
(in millions) 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
Video
Homes Passed(a) 48.5 45.7 38.6 37.8 36.9
Subscribers(b) 24.1 23.4 20.3 20.5 20.4
Penetration 49.6% 51.3% 52.7% 54.1% 55.1%
Digital Cable
Subscribers(c) 15.2 12.1 9.1 8.1 7.1
Penetration 63.1% 51.9% 44.8% 39.4% 35.1%
High-speed Internet
Available Homes(d) 48.1 45.2 38.2 37.1 32.2
Subscribers 13.2 11.0 8.1 6.6 5.0
Penetration 27.5% 24.4% 21.1% 17.8% 15.4%
Phone
Available Homes(d) 42.2 31.5 19.6 8.9 7.9
Subscribers 4.6 2.4 1.2 1.1 1.1
Penetration 10.8% 7.6% 6.0% 12.2% 14.2%
Basis of Presentation: Information related to cable system acquisitions is included from the date acquired. Information related to cable systems sold or exchanged is excluded for
all periods presented. All percentages are calculated based on actual amounts. Minor differences may exist due to rounding.
(a) Homes are considered passed (“homes passed”) if we can connect them to our distribution system without further extending the transmission lines. As described in Note (b)
below, in the case of certain multiple dwelling units (“MDUs”), such as apartment buildings and condominium complexes, homes passed are counted on an adjusted basis.
Homes passed is an estimate based on the best available information.
(b) Generally, a dwelling or commercial unit with one or more television sets connected to a system counts as one video subscriber. In the case of some MDUs, we count homes
passed and video subscribers on a Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) equivalent basis by dividing total revenue received from a contract withanMDUbythe
standard residential rate where the MDU is located.
(c) A dwelling with one or more digital set-top boxes counts as one digital cable subscriber. On average, as of December 31, 2007, each digital cable subscriber had 1.6 digital
set-top boxes.
(d) Homes are considered available (“available homes”) if we can connect them to our distribution system without further upgrading the transmission lines and if we offer the serv-
ice in that area. Available homes for phone include digital and circuit-switched homes.
Comcast 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K 2