Time Warner Cable Spectrum (1).JPG

The Time Warner Cable sign remains on the company's office on Fair Lakes Road in DeWitt a year after its acquisition by Charter Communications. Charter's Spectrum brand lost 100,000 video customers, mostly in its legacy Time Warner Cable markets, in the first quarter of 2017, compared with the same period in 2016.

(Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y. -- As they get hit with higher prices, legacy Time Warner Cable television customers are dropping Charter Communications' Spectrum brand by the tens of thousands.

Connecticut-based Charter lost 100,000 cable television customers, mostly in the company's legacy Time Warner Cable markets, in the first quarter of 2017, compared with the same period in 2016, according to Charter's latest earnings filing. During the same period in 2016, Charter and Time Warner Cable combined gained 24,000 video customers, it said.

The company attributed the loss to elevated customer "churn" as Time Warner Cable promotional pricing plans, which contained significant discounts, expired and customers were asked to transition to higher-priced Spectrum plans.

"The year-over-year decline in customer relationship ... net additions was primarily the result of elevated churn from legacy TWC historical pricing and packaging," the company said.

A Spectrum truck is parked at Charter Communications' office on Fair Lakes Road in DeWitt. Charter has introduced its Spectrum brand of television, internet and phone service to Central New York nearly a year after acquiring Time Warner Cable.

Charter completed its acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in May 2016 for $67.1 billion, creating the nation's second largest broadband provider and third largest pay TV provider.

To retain television customers as competition from over-the-web rivals like Netflix, Hulu and Sling TV heated up, Time Warner Cable regularly extended promotional pricing deals. Charter has said it will not continue that practice.

"Spectrum advertising and promotional pricing is aimed at new customers so they can sample our services at a discount, for a specific period of time, to see if it meets their needs and budget before the regular price takes effect," the company said in a statement. "We are no longer offering current customers deeply discounted promotions as TWC often did. We believe many customers will find that Spectrum packages are a better value and competitively priced."

Legacy Time Warner Cable customers on Charter's own community forums have been complaining about getting hit with sharply higher prices when their promotional plans expire.

A customer using the handle "shakjdp" said he switched to AT&T's U-verse TV after his Time Warner promotional pricing plan expired and he was told he would have to pay $30 to $50 a month more for the same "triple pay" package of video, internet and phone service. He said he was saving $50 monthly with AT&T.

"If I had been given anything close to AT&T's price, I would have stayed," he said.

Another legacy Time Warner Cable customers said she moved to Direct TV after her monthly bill jumped up $60, a 57 percent increase, from $105 to $165, following the switch to Spectrum.

"Guess Spectrum doesn't care about retaining the TW customers...their whole gimmick is if you change to their programming you pay more and if you lower your services you pay more," said Kathryn2.

A legacy Time Warner Cable customer posted this statement on Charter Communications' Spectrum community forums Feb. 21, 2017, complaining of price hikes.

A syracuse.com editor's cable bill rose $37, a 31 percent increase, from $122 to $159, when his Time Warner Cable promotional plan expired at the beginning of May.

Charter still offers promotional pricing plans. In fact, the company's website is full of them. However, only new customers are eligible for those prices, and the company considers legacy Time Warner Cable customers to be existing customers, not new ones.

Charter CEO Tom Rutledge told analysts in an earnings call that the loss of former Time Warner Cable video customers (that's the industry term for cable TV customers) was expected because of the company's firm policy on promotional pricing. He said he expected the losses to slow "as more customers connect to our new pricing and packaging."

Rutledge said 17 percent of Time Warner Cable and Bright House residential customers were on Spectrum's new pricing and packaging at the end of the first quarter.

In areas where Spectrum's pricing and plans were in place for at least two quarters, 32 percent of the company's residential customers were on "the Spectrum product set," saying that was slightly ahead of the company's expectations.

A spokesman for the company said Charter intends to stick with its strategy of only offering "promotional" pricing to new customers.

At the same time it has been losing cable customers, Charter has been gaining internet customers, an indication that customers switching to over-the-web video options are keeping and even upgrading their internet service because they need it now more than ever.

Charter added 428,000 residential internet customers in the first quarter of 2017, compared to an addition of 520,000 a year ago.

"The company continues to see strong demand for its internet service as consumers value the speed and reliability of Charter's internet offering," the company said.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148

Are you a legacy Time Warner cable TV customer who has been hit with higher prices with the switch to Charter Communications' Spectrum brand? Let the writer of this story know your experience by emailing him at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or commenting in the section below.