Cox Communications Inc. is making a bundle on bundles these days with service
bundling.
The Atlanta-based cabler announced that it has signed up its 1 millionth
customer to two or more services from among cable TV, high-speed Internet or
digital telephone.
Bundled customers now account for 15 percent of the company's overall
subscriber base, and churn rates are 33 percent to 50 percent lower among these
customers than among nonbundled customers.
'We are thrilled to surpass this highly significant milestone for our bundled
services,' Cox president and CEO Jim Robbins said in a prepared statement.
'Our success with delivering the bundle clearly demonstrates that customers
want choice and convenience and they trust Cox to provide high-quality, reliable
services,' he added. 'We take great pride in our ability to offer customers
one-stop shopping for their communications and entertainment needs.'
Cox started offering multiple services in 1997 in Orange County, Calif., and
Omaha, Neb. In those markets, some 40 percent of customers subscribe to two or
more services, and 10 percent take all three.
In markets where digital telephony is offered, 23 percent of customers buy
bundles. Digital penetration for these customers totals 60 percent compared with
48 percent in 2000.
Earlier this year, Cox began offering a flexible-statement plan, under which
bundled customers can choose to receive single or multiple
bills.
