A report from Nielsen Media Research suggests that cable companies are slowly losing their grip on the pay TV market, as satellite TV now holds 29.2 percent of the market, up from 9.5 percent in 2000. Wired cable lost considerable marketshare during the same period from a high of 89 percent in 2000 down to 71 percent in February 2007. Cable's total subscriber base is 68.3 million viewers, which is the lowest its been since February 1990. Cable certainly has the head start but this report finds telco TV offerings are priced 20 to 30 percent lower than cable bills and sport features like multi-room DCR functionality. Analyst Bruce Leichtman said that telcos are likely to take 25 percent of the market over time.
For more on the report:
- check out this article from MediaWeek