Cable companies Time Warner Cable, DirecTV Group and Verizon Communications have launched advertisements attacking their competition's offerings. Time Warner is mocking its rivals' indecipherable bills. DirecTV's latest ad depicts executives from other cable companies complaining about the quantity of digital programming offered by DirecTV. Cable companies have previously run negative ads directed at satellite companies, and ComCast has run ads mocking the speed of DSL Internet connections offered by telephone companies. With phone companies such as Verizon and AT&T beginning to offer television products and gain traction, competition for cable companies is increasing, which has led to a further emphasis on marketing. The latest ads are aimed at retaining existing customers as much as attracting new ones. Cable companies struggle with high 'churn' rates, with as many as 25 percent of customers switching providers every year. It is expected that Time Warner Cable will be spun out of its parent company, Time Warner, and the company is keen to establish an independent identity. Verizon, which has recently entered the television business, is spending heavily in markets like New York and Washington DC to influence not just potential customers but lawmakers and financial analysts as well, who they hope will focus on their new businesses rather than on their rapidly declining landline business.