Charter Asks Customers to Delete Videos After Cloud DVR Glitches

(Bloomberg) — Charter Communications Inc. said its online video storage feature has been faltering as it struggles with unforeseen demand from a recently launched streaming service. It urged customers to delete old or unwanted recordings as it works on the problem.

The Cloud DVR Plus platform has experienced technical difficulties following “much higher use than expected” of Charter’s Xumo service, which helps customers find programs, Chief Executive Officer Chris Winfrey said in an email sent April 18 to users. The glitch affected “a small group of customers,” he said, without providing a number or describing the problem further.

Charter introduced Xumo in October and billed it as a primary selling point for new video customers in its 41-state service area. Xumo helps customers find live TV, on-demand movies and streaming fare and works with an app for Charter’s Spectrum TV brand. The number of deployed Xumo boxes approached 1 million, Winfrey told investors in February.

Charter shares have dropped 33% this year as it reported losing broadband and cable-TV subscribers. Cable providers are struggling as customers flee traditional TV packages and turn to online sources. Meanwhile, mobile phone providers have been luring customers with wireless broadband offerings.

Stamford, Connecticut-based Charter in February reported serving 29.9 million residential customers, including 13.5 million residential video customers. It doesn’t publicly report the number of Cloud DVR Plus users.

Charter has temporarily stopped accepting new Cloud DVR Plus customers, made additional capacity investments in the platform and restricted its employees’ Cloud DVR Plus access to provide more capacity for customers, Winfrey said.

The company will provide customers a full credit for the Cloud DVR Plus charge, including last month and each new month “until we restore performance to our quality standards,” Winfrey said.

“During this time, which we estimate to be approximately two months, you will be limited to 50 recorded programs,” Winfrey said. “To optimize your viewing experience, please delete any old or unwanted recordings.”

A Charter spokesperson confirmed the letter and declined to provide further details.

Xumo is a joint venture between Charter and cable provider Comcast Corp. Charter said these problems didn’t affect Xumo and were specific to the DVR service.

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