CHICAGO - While the prevalent theme among some cable operators these days has been to emphasize broadband and sell non-TV services to satellite customers, John Bickham, president of cable and communications for Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC) sees no reason why those subscribers can't become full triple play cable customers.
"Satellite penetration at 30 percent is, I think, unnatural and unsustainable," Bickham said during a Cable Show panel session. "It's a one-way network. It has no tricks I know of that we can't do twice as well."
Some cable operators, particularly Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), have taken a different approach. While admitting they'd like the satellite TV business, they're pushing those subscribers to buy into data and voice services.
Bickham doesn't disagree with that strategy; he just thinks that cable can bring satellite subs completely back into the fold.
"I don't think there's any question that cable has the best delivery mechanisms for video and data," he said.
For more:
- Multichannel News has this story
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