WideOpenWest, Inc. (NYSE:WOW) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Frank Louthan: Well, I mean it seems like the bigger issue is the losses in the base that are overwhelming the newbuilds. And can you point to — is there a point in the future where that’s going to cross where you’re going to be able to see — you’re spending a lot of money and still losing subscribers. At what point can we see that start to work in the right direction? And it seems like the bigger drag is the legacy business. And I mean, I hear what you said about some of the changes and so forth, but what gives us confidence that this one is going to stick?

Teresa Elder: Yes. No, I think that’s a great point. So I mean, in the legacy business, of course, we have 1.9 million homes, and we’ve added another 30,000 in greenfield. So just the scale there is significant. But what we are seeing coming out of the fourth quarter and certainly into the first quarter is a reversal of some of the trends in the legacy business and then the continued expansion and growth that we’re seeing in the Greenfield. So I do think we see a point in the future where that starts to cross and we start to see the business growing again.

Frank Louthan: Is that this year? Or is that next year? At what point will that be?

Teresa Elder: We’re not giving guidance really for HSD net adds for the rest of the year. For the first quarter, we’ve substantially improved over the fourth quarter saying negative 2,000 to negative 500 adds, that’s also an improvement, I believe, over the first quarter of last year. So we believe it is within our grasp, and we’ll just have to continue to see how things play out with all the many tactics and new strategies that we put in place, but we are feeling good about the momentum we’ve got so far.

Frank Louthan: Okay, thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Dan Day with B. Riley Securities. Please go ahead.

Dan Day: Yes, good morning guys. Appreciate you taking the questions. So I know you track pretty closely when people turn out the reason for it and where they’re going you just talk about in the fourth quarter, where some of these customers want? Was it still mostly the low end? Is there being the fixed wireless? Was that sort of the most common response that you got or — anything to call out in terms of increased competitive pressures from the larger peers with these wireless bundles?

Teresa Elder: Yes. The majority of the places our customers go is not to fixed wireless. I think we talked about that last quarter and brought it up because it was the first time it was even much of a blip on the radar. It hadn’t been much for us previously. So the majority of customers who churn in and out of wow will go to Comcast or Charter, who are our biggest competitors every day kind of all day. And so we feel like we created a bit of an opportunity, because we had done the rate increase last year. And we also, at the same time, had some customers rolling off of promo. So we’ve really done some things to, I think, shore up the certainty of pricing, competitiveness of that and just simplified it for customers. They want that certainty going forward, and I think we’re really addressing some of those kinds of things.

So we’ve seen churn really step down this quarter in the first quarter. And of course, we don’t want to get too much ahead of ourselves giving you first quarter data. But just to let you know, those are metrics, of course, that we track very, very closely and always remain competitive. That’s just the DNA of WOW is that we are a competitive provider. We’ve prided ourselves being a challenger brand, and that means always being able to anticipate and respond to any competitive dynamics.

Dan Day: Thanks and I think you started to get this in the last question that was asked, and maybe I’ll ask you just a little more directly. So for the first quarter guidance for subscriber net adds, can you talk about your expectations for greenfield and what the — maybe just directionally what you’re thinking for gross net adds in greenfield and then losses in the legacy markets.

Teresa Elder: Yes. We really haven’t broken it down that way. So we have given you the overall number. But of course, greenfield continues to contribute well. But in order to have that kind of a reversal from fourth quarter to first quarter and what we’re guiding you for the first quarter, clearly, we are seeing significant improvement in the legacy side of the business as well. So we’re lifting the boats on both sides. We’ve got more homes passed on the greenfield side to go out and attract new customers. So our — I was just with a group of our top salespeople. They’re very excited about the reaction that they’re getting there. And feel good about the new markets that we’re going into. And on the legacy side, both shoring up churn, getting back down to those levels that WOW has always enjoyed and also attracting new customers with the new pricing options, delighting our existing customers with those speed upgrades. So really, I think, working on all fronts.

Dan Day: Okay, good. Thanks.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Matthew Harrigan with Benchmark. Please go ahead.

Matthew Harrigan: Thank you. You have to be very happy with how robust your econometric model is for identifying new market entry given the penetration you’re getting on your cohorts. But do you think those markets or some of the characteristics are going to evolve over time, so were they near the more competitive base markets? And have you kind of identified your ROI or modified your ROI and your hurdle rates and maybe be a little bit more cautious moving forward in reaction to that. And when you look at these new markets, I mean Florida et cetera, you some great demographic areas as far as household formation and all that. But how much of your NAV for identifying these great new markets as a function of good demographics and all that versus just the competitive intensity, at least for a while being a little less intense, whether may not be having much fiber or T-Mo or rise not really doing too much on fixed wireless in those areas sorry, you apologize you’ve been a little bit long winded, but I’m sure you’ve got the gist of my question.

Thank you.