Chris Blount
12-17-04, 06:08 AM
Comcast is ramping up efforts to get more DVRs into customer hands, and that has cable and satellite TV eyeing the digital recorder potential for the nation's largest cable operator.
During the past few weeks, Comcast has been rolling out Motorola dual-tuner DVRs in key markets such as Miami, Chicago and Minneapolis. The service is priced at $9.95 a month.
Craig Moffett of Bernstein Research said he thinks Comcast can get DVRs into the hands of an estimated 900,000 customers by the end of 2005, if the operator can get 9.5 percent of its digital cable subscriber base hooked up with the service. When coming up with his Comcast DVR forecast, Moffett took into consideration the DVR penetration for Time Warner, which leads the cable business with about 15 percent of its digital cable subscribers using digital recorders.
On the satellite TV side, DirecTV has about 10 percent of its total subscriber base using digital recorders, and EchoStar is believed to have penetration of almost 20 percent among its DISH Network customers.
"DVRs will inevitably take a back seat to higher profile opportunities such as VoIP," Moffett said. "But they are significant in advancing Comcast's video-first strategy, and can be expected to contribute meaningfully to Comcast's revenue and EBITDA growth over the next few years."
Moffett said nationally there were an estimated 5.5 million DVR households at the end of the third quarter, representing a penetration level of about 5.5 percent of all pay-TV homes. Growth has exceeded 100 percent during the past year, and is accelerating with broader cable deployment, Moffett said.
http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)
During the past few weeks, Comcast has been rolling out Motorola dual-tuner DVRs in key markets such as Miami, Chicago and Minneapolis. The service is priced at $9.95 a month.
Craig Moffett of Bernstein Research said he thinks Comcast can get DVRs into the hands of an estimated 900,000 customers by the end of 2005, if the operator can get 9.5 percent of its digital cable subscriber base hooked up with the service. When coming up with his Comcast DVR forecast, Moffett took into consideration the DVR penetration for Time Warner, which leads the cable business with about 15 percent of its digital cable subscribers using digital recorders.
On the satellite TV side, DirecTV has about 10 percent of its total subscriber base using digital recorders, and EchoStar is believed to have penetration of almost 20 percent among its DISH Network customers.
"DVRs will inevitably take a back seat to higher profile opportunities such as VoIP," Moffett said. "But they are significant in advancing Comcast's video-first strategy, and can be expected to contribute meaningfully to Comcast's revenue and EBITDA growth over the next few years."
Moffett said nationally there were an estimated 5.5 million DVR households at the end of the third quarter, representing a penetration level of about 5.5 percent of all pay-TV homes. Growth has exceeded 100 percent during the past year, and is accelerating with broader cable deployment, Moffett said.
http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)