Comcast subscriber growth slowed in the fourth quarter from the year-ago period as the impact of the declining economy exacerbated competition from rival satellite and phone companies.

The top US cable operator, which delivers video, phone and broadband services to some 24m US customers, also lost basic video customers at a faster rate than any period last year, or about 233,000 during the quarter that Brian Roberts, Comcast chief executive, called “the toughest we have known in business”.