The number of US households taking cable television services looks likely to decrease for the first time ever in the full year 2002, according to the Federal Communications Commission‘s (FCC) annual report on competition in video markets.
This first-time decline in subscribers comes amidst a declining market share for the cable sector. As of June 2002, 76.5% of all subscribers to multichannel services received their programming from a franchised cable operator, compared to 78.0% a year earlier.
Although in the year to June 2002 the cable subs showed a slight growth, a number of major operators subsequently saw declines and so the full year is likely to display a net loss of customers. Inflation-beating price hikes will not have helped the figures.
Satellite makes gains It is direct-to-home satellite which is making inroads on cable’s historically dominant position. Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service has grown significantly and now represents 20.3% of all multichannel subscribers, says the FCC’s report.
Between June 2001 and June 2002, the number of DBS subscribers grew from almost 16 million households to about 18 million households, significantly higher than the cable subscriber growth rate.
Analysts suggest that this trend is likely to continue into 2003, with satellite set to add a further two million subscribers, whilst cable’s numbers remain more or less flat.
Since the previous year’s report, the total number of subscribers to both cable and non-cable multichannel services has increased to 89.9 million households as of June 2002, up 1.8%. Overall, the penetration of multichannel services decreased by 1.2% points in the year to June, to 85.3%.
