04:00 PM EST, 12/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Article updated to mention broadband subscriber losses in the top half of the story, making other changes in the lower half, including additional background.)

Shares of Comcast ( CMCSA ) tumbled Monday after the company said that it will likely lose more than 100,000 broadband subscribers in the fourth quarter.

In the first two quarters of the year, the company lost just under 100,000 broadband customers per quarter, Comcast Cable ( CMCSA ) Chief Executive David Watson said at a UBS conference on Monday, according to a FactSet transcript.

Performance improved in the three-month period ended Sept. 30 due to factors including an Olympics tailwind and "a competitor strike," Watson said. However, December-quarter trends are mirroring those in the first half, he said. Shares of Comcast ( CMCSA ) were down 9.6% ahead of market close.

Recent hurricanes are expected to result in about 10,000 in broadband losses in the final quarter of the year, which will have a slight impact on average revenue per user, Watson said. Taken together, "we could be looking at a broadband subscriber loss in (the fourth quarter) of just over 100,000," he added.

"It remains competitively intense," Watson said. Competition has been particularly strong in the more price conscious end of the market.

Separately, Comcast ( CMCSA ) reached long-term agreements to distribute Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) content to Xfinity subscribers in the US and Sky customers in the UK and Ireland, the companies said Monday in a joint statement. The partnership will continue to see Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) channels including TNT, CNN, TBS, Food Network and Discovery, appear for Xfinity TV customers. In addition, the deal provides continued carriage of HBO and expands Comcast's ( CMCSA ) rights to package the ad-supported versions of Max and Discovery+ in its streaming bundles. Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) television and movies will be made available to Sky UK and NOW customers through a new long-term partnership in the UK and Ireland.

"We extended our partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery ( WBD ) to distribute its networks and expanded our ability to deliver its premium streaming content, including Max and Discovery+, in a way that provides more choice and flexibility to all of our customers as the video ecosystem continues to evolve," Greg Rigdon, Comcast's ( CMCSA ) president of content acquisition, said in the statement.

It underscores "the value and appeal of our linear portfolio for audiences in the US," while Sky UK serves as an "ideal partner" in the UK and Ireland ahead of Max's launch in those countries in early 2026, said Warner Bros Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer Bruce Campbell.

In November, Comcast ( CMCSA ) said it was spinning off certain cable networks, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel, into a separate publicly traded company. Comcast ( CMCSA ) will retain NBC entertainment, sports, news and Bravo, which all power its Peacock streaming platform, along with its Spanish-language channel Telemundo, under the NBCUniversal umbrella. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025.

Price: 39.23, Change: -3.92, Percent Change: -9.08