Qwest Remains Cautious about Pay-TV Business

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7:00 am on May 7, 2007 | Category: Business, Telecom Services, Television

As AT&T and Verizon Communications spend billions of dollars on the roll out of fiber-optic television networks, the Chief Executive of Denver-based Qwest Communications remains cautious, and says he will wait for proof that customers really want pay-TV from their telephone companies.

“Is it possible that our model is OK?” Qwest CEO, Richard Notebaert said in a recent interview. “We don’t have to knee-jerk. The only reason you think I should spend more is because someone else is spending more.”

Notebaert says that the majority of shareholders don’t want to commit to major spending in the video market until demand for fiber optic television services becomes apparent.

In the mean time, Qwest will continue to resell the satellite television services of its partner, DirecTV Group, while operating its own pay-TV networks in select neighborhoods of Phoenix, Arizona and Denver, Colorado.

“There’s no need to be the aggressive leader in (the video) space,” commented Baltimore-based Legg Mason Capital Management Inc. analyst, Reed Deupree. “They have an option on video if AT&T gets it to work.”