Cable Leads Pay-TV Market, Says Survey

According to a study by US marketing information group, JD Power and Associates, cable TV companies gained three times as many new subscribers to pay-TV as BSkyB in the last twelve months. The company says that customers are choosing cable rather than satellite “because of a desire for better price and a dislike of satellite TV dishes.”

The report says that UK cable companies are making “significant inroads in the pay-TV market, competing effectively against BSkyB, the only major satellite pay-TV, on perceived cost and value for money.”

The study of 1,800 cable TV customers found that there was very little discrepancy in customer satisfaction and perceived quality between the major service providers. This despite the fact that they differ significantly in size, infrastructure, advertising and promotions.

In the customer satisfaction survey for pay-TV, General Cable faired the best, followed closely by Comcast.

Source: JD Power and Associates

These figures are indexed against an industry standard (average).

General Cable gained a slim margin of victory over Comcast as the result of better performance in four of the seven factors driving customer satisfaction including reception quality, customer service, billing and installation, says the report. However, Comcast’s performance was comparable on the three key drivers: cost, capabilities and variety/package offerings.