Time Warner Cable 2008 Annual Report Download - page 4

TIME WARNER CABLE 2008 ANNUAL REPORT
2008 Highlights
In 2008, we differentiated Time Warner
Cable’s services like never before, with
numerous accomplishments across all of
our services, including:
• Rapidly growing our high-de nition
video lineups. We now offer our
customers an average of 57 HD channels,
with many more available in several
areas (including New York City, where
we deliver over 100 HD channels as
of early 2009).
• Expanding Start Over, our time-shifted
viewing service. Where deployed, this
value-added feature allows our Digital
Cable customers to restart a program
in progress, without advance planning.
Customers have embraced it enthusias-
tically, enjoying more than 60 million
Start Over streams in 2008.
• Delivering Caller ID on TV. At the end
of 2008, more than two-thirds of our
Digital Phone subscribers could see
who’s calling without leaving the comfort
of the couch. In December alone,
we delivered more than half a billion
Caller ID messages to customers’ TVs.
• Enhancing the speed and capability
of our high-speed data services.
PowerBoost can deliver burst speeds of
up to 22 mbps. We offer it as a value-
added feature to our Road Runner
Turbo subscribers and are rolling it out
to Road Runner Standard customers.
Additionally, in 2009, we will further
expand the capability of our high-speed
data network and begin o ering even
faster data services over the DOCSIS 3.0
platform in some service areas.
Delivering powerful services at a great
value is now more critical than ever. Our
customers are increasingly turning to bundling
and our Price Lock Guarantee to help them
manage household budgets more e ectively.
At the end of 2008, more than 54 percent of
Our subscription relationships with more than 14 million
customers provide a bu er against the economic challenges.
We’re working to strengthen those relationships by making
our customers’ lives simpler and easier through the powerful
connections we provide in their homes and businesses.
our customers purchased at least two of our
three primary services. More than three million
customers enjoyed the full triple play bundle
and the value it delivers. In fact, nearly three
quarters of a million customers became triple
play customers in 2008, alone.
Inside the company, we’re streamlining
our operational structures and standardizing
processes to be more e cient. These steps help
establish consistent companywide network
standards that are crucial for launching new
products and ensuring the highest-quality
customer care. They also help us project a
consistent Time Warner Cable identity to
consumers, regardless of where we operate,
while also retaining the local presence and
community commitment our customers value.
of their phone customers, so we know what
to expect and are well-prepared to compete
against them in the video marketplace. We also
have long faced competition from satellite TV
companies and are pleased with our performance
against them. Our ability to deliver bundles of
video, data and voice services over a single
integrated network is a key differentiator
against satellite providers.
2009 Objectives
In addition to actively di erentiating our services
from competitors, a key focus in 2009 will be
managing costs and striking the right balance
between subscriber growth and pro tability.
Our costs of doing business are rising. In
particular, ever-increasing programming costs
Intensi ed Marketing
In 2008, we sharpened our marketing messages
and invested more heavily in advertising our
services. We communicated more aggressively
what sets Time Warner Cable apart from
competitors as the best choice for video, data
and voice services.
Competition has increased dramatically
over the past few years. However, we have
prepared for it and are confident in our
competitive strength. The traditional telephone
companies are expanding their video services
into a greater portion of our footprint. As they
do so, we expect to lose some video customers,
at least in the initial launch phase when these
new providers receive heavy media attention.
However, we’ve competed against them for
years and have attracted a signi cant number
make it challenging to continue to deliver
cable TV at a reasonable price. However, we
are committed to delivering great products
and a great value – especially as the economic
downturn continues – so we will continue to
manage our costs carefully. We also will focus
on reducing debt and continuing to generate
signi cant free cash  ow.
Enhancing customer service is another
crucial goal. While customers tell us they
want technology and the latest services and
features, they also want them delivered in
ways that are simple and easy. We’re focusing
on additional ways for our customers to do
business with us easily and e ciently. We’re
doing that through online tools and new
technologies, revitalized retail sales centers
and retail partnerships. We’ve also revamped