Chris Blount
01-29-04, 07:01 AM
The Federal Communications Commission, in its 10th report on cable/satellite TV competition released Thursday, took aim at cable and its price increases during the study's most-recent 12-month period and for the past 10 years.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics cited in the FCC study, between year-end 1993 and the end of June 2003, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures general price changes, increased about 25.5 percent, while cable prices rose about 53.1 percent, the FCC research said. Between June 2002 and June 2003, cable prices jumped 5.1 percent, compared to a 2.1 percent increase in the overall CPI, the study found.
With the rate increases, the number of services offered by cable operators has increased, including a substantial increase in the number of video channels and increased viewership, the FCC said. Cable operators also attributed rising prices to increased programming costs and higher labor costs, both of which have risen faster than inflation, the study said.
Cable showed a hefty loss of its piece of the pay-TV market, according to the numbers. At year-end 1993, 94.89 percent of pay-TV subscribers received video programming from a franchised cable operator, yet by June 2003 74.87 percent of subscribers received video programming from an MSO, the FCC study said.
DBS increased its portion of the pay-TV market to 22 percent as of June 2003, the commission said.
Cable quickly responded to the FCC numbers. Robert Sachs, president and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, said the report found that cable "faces significant competition, evidenced by the fact that the two nationwide DBS providers now serve over 20 million subscribers or 22 percent of all multichannel video households."
A statement from the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association said, "Despite the emergence and continuing growth of DBS in the multichannel video marketplace, cable operators still serve 75 percent of multichannel video subscribers.
"Reauthorization of certain expiring provisions in the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act and other considerations will help to create a more level playing field with incumbent cable operators. Congressional and FCC support, along with advances in technology among competitors, should allow satellite companies to continue to bring superior choice, value and service to consumers," SBCA said.
http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics cited in the FCC study, between year-end 1993 and the end of June 2003, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures general price changes, increased about 25.5 percent, while cable prices rose about 53.1 percent, the FCC research said. Between June 2002 and June 2003, cable prices jumped 5.1 percent, compared to a 2.1 percent increase in the overall CPI, the study found.
With the rate increases, the number of services offered by cable operators has increased, including a substantial increase in the number of video channels and increased viewership, the FCC said. Cable operators also attributed rising prices to increased programming costs and higher labor costs, both of which have risen faster than inflation, the study said.
Cable showed a hefty loss of its piece of the pay-TV market, according to the numbers. At year-end 1993, 94.89 percent of pay-TV subscribers received video programming from a franchised cable operator, yet by June 2003 74.87 percent of subscribers received video programming from an MSO, the FCC study said.
DBS increased its portion of the pay-TV market to 22 percent as of June 2003, the commission said.
Cable quickly responded to the FCC numbers. Robert Sachs, president and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, said the report found that cable "faces significant competition, evidenced by the fact that the two nationwide DBS providers now serve over 20 million subscribers or 22 percent of all multichannel video households."
A statement from the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association said, "Despite the emergence and continuing growth of DBS in the multichannel video marketplace, cable operators still serve 75 percent of multichannel video subscribers.
"Reauthorization of certain expiring provisions in the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act and other considerations will help to create a more level playing field with incumbent cable operators. Congressional and FCC support, along with advances in technology among competitors, should allow satellite companies to continue to bring superior choice, value and service to consumers," SBCA said.
http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)