A Decade of Bundling Delivers Cox Communications Considerable Competitive Advantages
Patrick Esser's First Year as President Marked by Significant Growth in Key Areas
Atlanta, GA

ATLANTA – Cox Communications announced today that its accomplishments in 2006, the first year under President Pat Esser's leadership, further demonstrated that the company's decade-long focus on bundling multiple services continues to be a key competitive asset.

"There's no question about it, the bundle is our best offense and defense," Esser said. He added that later this year Cox will celebrate the 10th anniversary of delivering its customers a three-product bundle of cable, telephone and high-speed Internet services, just as it prepares to begin offering a fourth major service, wireless. "As we celebrate a decade of the bundle, we recognize the commitment of Cox employees who have transformed Cox from a single-service cable TV company into a world-class broadband telecommunications provider and a leader in customer service." Esser noted that over 60% of Cox's video customers subscribe to more than one of the company's three major services. Cox ended the year with 3.4 million bundled customers, a nearly 15% increase over 2005. Among the benefits of bundling, customer churn is at an all-time low across all product lines. Additionally, sell-in -- the percentage of new cable customers who subscribe to Cox Digital Telephone and/or Cox High Speed Internet-is also at a record high, about 60%.

At the start of Esser's first year as President, he established several strategic priorities to guide the company's continued success in a rapidly changing marketplace; chief among them: build market share, create efficiencies, and be the trusted provider in Cox markets. The company's 2006 accomplishments indicate considerable success in each area, including:

  • Cox's goal of driving market share includes a strategy aimed at ensuring "a line in every home," reflecting renewed focus on signing up non-video subscribers who still want to purchase Cox's Internet and/or telephone services. At the end of the year, the company had a record 448,666 non-video customers, representing a net gain of 20% over 2005.
  • Customer self-installations of video and high-speed Internet services helped increase operating efficiencies. For the third year in a row, more than half of Cox's new Internet customers self-installed their service.
  • Underscoring its mission to be the trusted provider in its markets, the company was honored with five J.D. Power and Associates awards in 2006 alone (three for residential telephone and one each for video and commercial services). Cox remains the only provider to receive J.D. Power honors in video, residential telephone and high-speed Internet.

“It was a terrific fourth quarter and full year distinguished by customer growth and increased satisfaction; tremendous commercial sales; strong growth in digital cable, digital video recorders and On DEMAND; and our best quarter and year ever for high definition TV service,” Esser said.

Cox ended 2006 with 5.4 million basic video customers, representing a net gain of more than 30,000 customers over 2005; 5.9 million total residential customer relationships, an increase of nearly 2%; 3.3 million high-speed Internet customers, an increase of more than 16%; and over 2 million telephone customers, representing growth of over 21%. (Growth rates are adjusted for the sale of cable systems in 2006.)

Acerca de Cox Communications

Cox Communications, a Fortune 500 company, is a multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company with more than 6 million total residential and commercial customers. Cox offers an array of advanced digital video, high-speed Internet and telephony services over its own nationwide IP network. Cox Business Services is a full-service, facilities-based provider of communications solutions for commercial customers, providing high-speed Internet, voice and long-distance services, as well as data and video transport services for small to large-sized businesses. Cox Media offers national and local cable advertising in traditional spot and new media formats, along with promotional opportunities and production services. More information about the services of Cox Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, is available at www.cox.com/espanol, www.coxbusiness.com y www.coxmedia.com.

Media Contact
David Grabert
404.269.7054
David.Grabert@Cox.com

Home page contact

For general media and industry analyst inquiries, please visit the media and corporate contacts .