Harmonic’s Q1 Revenue Slows 2.1% on Sluggish Video Sales, Decelerating CableOS Deployments

(Image credit: Harmonic)

Harmonic said the steady march of its virtualized cable access network platform CableOS was slowed in the first quarter due to shifting operator priorities amid the ongoing pandemic. 

Commercial deployments of CableOS reached 27 in the first quarter, up 17% over Q4. Modems served globally by CableOS increased sequentially by 30% to 1.3 million.

“These are good results for a quarter that is typically seasonally slow and were both shipments and deployments were somewhat impacted by COVID-19; specifically in March we saw several ongoing CableOS deployments initially paused, restarts and then proceed at a somewhat slower pace following the implementation of appropriate safety precautions,” said Harmonic CEO Patrick Harshman, speaking to investment analysts during Monday’s earnings call. 

Revenue for Harmonic’s cable access segment was up 85% year over year to $24 million.

Business wasn’t as good in Harmonic’s video segment, which broadly serves traditional broadcasters, pay TV players, media companies and streaming customers. The vendor’s video revenue was down 19% in the quarter to $54.4 million, as video appliances and integration sales fell well below our original expectations.

Streaming was a bright spot. 

“Harmonic is uniquely positioned to lead the premium video streaming SaaS market, and we're leaning into the opportunity more aggressively than ever. At quarter end, we had over 7,300 cloud based linear channels deployed globally, up 56% sequentially,” Harshman said. 

Overall, Harmonic’s Q1 revenue declined 2.1% year over year to $78.4 million. 

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!