|
ANDREA FIGLER
Cable companies are fighting back on the digital battlefront, reducing the price lead held by digital broadcast satellite providers, a study found.
Cable operators are adding channels to their digital offering at such a rapid rate that their average price per channel is dropping sharply, diving below the cost per channel available via DBS, according to a new report published by The Carmel Group.
The average cost of a basic cable channel fell to 37 cents from 47 cents last year, a reduction of about 20%, while the price for DBS channels, however, went up 3% to 47 cents.
Jimmy Schaeffler, a television subscription analyst at Carmel, says findings showed cable is beginning to counter DBS's long time price advantage.
"Let's just say things have finally gotten competitive; much of cable has begun to get it," says Schaeffler.
Even though cable companies are closing the gap, the report found DBS to be a better overall value.
The average cost for basic DBS totals about $20 a month, up from $19 last year, compared to the $46 a month for digital cable, up from $43, the report noted.
"DBS remains the best overall value for a given consumer dollar," says Schaeffler.
The study was the third annual report by the group comparing the costs and services provided by cable companies with the costs and services of DBS providers.
The Carmel Group also publishes DBS Investor, a newsletter that covers DBS companies and trends.
When it comes to premium services, the report found satellite beats cable hands down. DBS provides more for less, the report found.
DBS provides 143 video channels and 36 music channels at about 42 cents a month per channel compared with digital cable, which offers 117 video channels and 34 music channels at about 46 cents a month on average.
t PBS teamed with Twin Entertainment, an enhanced interactive TV company, to offer "ZOOMnoodle" programming as part of its "walled garden" service to cable and satellite providers.
A trivia quiz based on the kid-oriented Zoom series will soon be running on interactive TV platforms, including Liberate, OpenTV and MicrosoftTV.
s DirecTV and Comedy Central are teaming up to offer a South Park PPV special. Until Dec. 31, DirecTV subscribers can pay $3.99 for all-day access to "South Park Holiday Memories," a two-hour package of four holiday-themed episodes and interviews with creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
t Metricom is launching Ricochet, its high-speed wireless Internet access service, in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. This brings the 128 Kbps service provider's footprint to 12 metropolitan markets nationwide.
s ValueVision International has entered into a 10-year licensing agreement with NBC to rebrand its ValueVision home shopping network and companion Web site with an NBC identity. The rebranding, set to launch in the spring, includes on-air and online cross-promotion and joint merchandising for the two networks.
t Comcast doesn't have to offer its regional sports network, SportsNet, to competitors DirecTV and EchoStar Communications, the FCC determined last week. The commission unanimously ruled SportsNet is not covered by program-access rules, because the network is not satellite-delivered. DBS providers complained Comcast intended to evade the rules by feeding the network to affiliates via fiber and microwave.
In the Nov. 13 issue of Cable World, Steve Effros of Effros Communications was quoted incorrectly on page 4. He said, "You could point to all kinds of doomsday scenarios, like Disney is right now. But the truth is, they were big before, and they didn't try to control the market." Cable World regrets the error.
Back to this issue
|
