Satellite TV industry posting gains in battle for viewers

[Chris Blount]

By Sandy Shore, Associated Press

DENVER — As a self-described creature of habit, Glen Goldman stayed loyal to his cable company until he was left without a choice.
Goldman switched to satellite TV service when he moved into a new home that lacked the proper wiring for cable and he's never looked back. The advantages he sees roll off his tongue — digital picture, high-definition TV, more choices and a user-friendly channel guide.

"The number of channels and variety is much better than what I had in cable for a few dollars more a month," Goldman said. "I like being able to get the direct signal without it being weakened by having to go through various switches and cable lines."

The Denver attorney is among thousands of Americans who have defected to satellite TV as the providers have reported hefty gains while the cable industry has declined. Consumers likely will see aggressive marketing promotions in the next six months as companies jockey for customers, analysts say.

The battle comes down to service and price: Cable companies offer video-on-demand features, high-speed Internet and, in some cases, telephone service. Satellite providers have all-digital service and channel packages that can be cheaper and broader than digital cable.

"The consumer is voting with their pocketbook and they're saying they prefer satellite, and I don't think we're as good as we're going to get," CEO Charlie Ergen of EchoStar Communications, which operates the Dish Network, told analysts last week.

More (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-08-15-sat-tv-gains_x.htm)

[LauderDave]

The author is Sandy Shore? Great name. I don't mean to change the point of this thread, but, true story: The Miami Dolphins have a long-time front office employee named Fudge Browne. Seriously. I hear she's real sweet!
Back on point, one thing I hated about cable was when the company would announce they had reached an agreement to carry a station, but it would never show up on my T.V. because the local building where my wire came from didn't have enough capacity. With satellite, when Charlie says, "No NFL Network", that means, "None Of You!" "Now, we'd like to announce local channels for Guam..." (luv' ya' Charlie, it's just a joke)

[Mike Richardson]

As a self-described creature of habit, Glen Goldman stayed loyal to his cable company until he was left without a choice.
Goldman switched to satellite TV service when he moved into a new home that lacked the proper wiring for cable and he's never looked back. The advantages he sees roll off his tongue — digital picture, high-definition TV, more choices and a user-friendly channel guide.

That's exactly I switched. We moved in November 2002 and the neighborhood had no cable wiring. And it never got wired until March 2003, and the damn service wasn't activated until April!

After cable was activated I signed up for Earthlink Cable Modem ($42/mo). DSL was not possible because the phone company was too cheap to lay their lines correctly (which is why dial-up was 28.8). But I never bothered to consider cable TV. The analog channels look nasty. I remembering on my bedroom TV having to lower the sharpness in order to combat the sparklies. I'd rather have some compression artifacts than those damned sparklies! And DISH is less expensive when you consider that you'd have to pay something like $12 per PVR to TiVo since the cable company does not offer PVR.

[midnight75]

Where I work, they still have cable TV. I often watch it while I am on lunch break. I laugh everytime the cable company plays a dish bashing commercial. To me, that means that the cable companies are feeling the affects of satellite TV.