More news in relatin to the cable-satellite war:
Cable TV Companies Losing Some Customers to DBS, Study Finds
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Source: The Denver Post
The Denver Post via Knight-Ridder/Tribune : By Stephen
Keating Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News
Dec. 20--Cable TV companies are losing some of their highest-revenue customers
to direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) services, according to a study released
yesterday by the Boston-based Yankee Group.
The study found that cable subscriptions among households with annual incomes
greater than $75,000 fell to 78.2 percent from 83.7 percent last year.
"DBS is beginning to lure cable's most desirable customers with its promises of
superior picture and sound quality, and greater programming selection," the
Yankee Group said in its annual "Technology Advanced Family" study.
The study was culled from 40-page questionnaires sent to U.S. and Canadian
households. It also found that cable operator efforts to improve service are
paying off in higher customer satisfaction ratings.
DBS services, including DirecTv and Englewood-based EchoStar, serve 4 million
households and are gaining customers at the rate of 7,500 a day. The cable TV
industry, led by Tele-Communications Inc. of Englewood, serves roughly 64
million homes.
In the third quarter, TCI reported a loss of 70,000 core cable customers and the
loss of 308,000 pay-TV subscriptions for high-end programming such as Home Box
Office.
"Obviously, it's a competitive marketplace," said Larae Marsik of TCI. "The
majority of the customer disconnects were due to a perception of value. That's
one of the reasons we're taking a closer look at our program offerings."
TCI plans to double the channel choices available to 5 million subscriber homes
next year by launching digital set-top boxes. TCI also controls PrimeStar, a DBS
service.
The exact number of defections from cable to DBS is difficult to count because
some customers, particularly wealthier ones, are keeping basic cable for local
broadcast channels while adding on satellite-delivered sports and movie
packages.
The Yankee Group's report of a 5.5 percentage point drop in cable customers
sounds a bit "inflated," said Robert Lehmann, a researcher with the Golden-based
Sky Report, a DBS industry publication. |
