Comcast 1Q profit falls 12 pct, customer cable spending up

Comcast said last year's digital rollout was heavier because it ramped up shipping of digital set-top boxes as a July federal deadline loomed to switch to set-tops with separable security.

The company added 492,000 new high-speed Internet customers, down 16 percent year-over-year.

But its digital voice service added 639,000 new customers, up 9 percent from last year. Its circuit-switched phone business, which Comcast is exiting, lost 110,000 customers.

Customers spent an average of $63.46 for cable TV, up from $59.97 in 2007's first quarter. Cable TV revenue rose by 5 percent to $4.71 billion.

For Internet service, where Comcast faces more competition, customers spent an average of $42.18, down from $43.08. Revenue for this business rose by 12 percent to $1.75 billion.

For digital phone service, subscribers spent $40.24, down from $42.44. Revenue, however, more than doubled to $573 million as the company siphoned customers from phone companies.