Verizon's FiOS TV gained subscribers in 2008

While many other providers of cable television service lost subscribers, Verizon Communications Inc.'s FiOS TV service has seen gains off a modest starting point, according to figures from the Massachusetts Department of Television and Cable.

As of 2005, Verizon did not offer cable TV service in Massachusetts. Starting in Woburn, Verizon launched its FiOS TV service in Massachusetts in January 2006, a company spokesman said, and today FiOS TV service is available in 103 Bay State communities.

That growth is reflected in state figures. At the end of 2006, Verizon had just under 12,000 cable TV subscribers. At the end of 2007, that number jumped to 78,406. And at the end of 2008, there were 159,821 Verizon FiOS TV subscribers in Massachusetts. FiOS is the only kind of cable TV service that Verizon offers in Massachusetts.

"We will continue to expand the network and offer the advantages of FiOS TV and bring cable choice to even more consumers in Massachusetts," a Verizon spokesman said.

According to state figures, Comcast is the largest provider of cable TV service in Massachusetts. At the end of 2008, there were just over 2.1 million cable TV subscribers in the state, and Comcast had 1,620,853 of them. At the end of 2007, Comcast had 1,652,233 cable TV subscribers, the state said.

A Comcast spokesman noted that competition is fierce, with cable operators facing off not only against one another but also going up against satellite TV providers.

"Comcast competes every day across all three of our product lines with a variety of different providers including two satellite TV providers," the Comcast spokesman said.

Besides cable TV, Comcast also offers Internet service and phone service in Massachusetts.

RCN Corp., which offers cable TV service in such local communities as Arlington, Boston, Brookline, and Somerville, posted a gain in subscribers between 2007 and 2008, state figures show.

At the end of 2007, RCN had 64,319 cable TV subscribers in Massachusetts, the state said; at the end of 2008, that number was 64,812.

"We held our own" in markets where RCN competed against both Comcast and Verizon, said an RCN spokesman, who added that RCN posted small gains in such communities as Boston, Milton, Somerville, and Watertown. (Globe Staff)