Study: Satellite TV Gaining on Cable; Analog Subscribers Going Digital

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 16, 2006 - 6:04pm.

Westlake Village, Calif. - Although satellite TV is growing in popularity over cable services, cable TV subscribers are rapidly upgrading from analog to digital cable services, according to a study from J.D. Power and Associates. Overall, 88% of U.S. households now subscribe to cable and/or satellite TV services; 29% of these are satellite subscribers -- up 2% over the past year -- while 58% subscribe to cable, down from 60% a year ago. Fueled by the availability of digital video, data and voice bundling options, the number of digital cable as opposed to analog cable TV subscribers has risen from 30% in 2005 to 41% in 2006. "With analog cable subscribers increasingly converting to digital, this becomes a major advantage for cable companies in the race against satellite providers to maintain market share," said Steve Kirkeby, executive director of telecommunications and technology research at J.D. Power and Associates. The report also found that digital video recorder usage has increased significantly over the past year, with 38% of cable and 25% of satellite subscribers using set-tops supplied by their provider; another 24% of cable/satellite subscribers report using TiVo for digital video recorder services.

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