Satellite TV subscribers more satisfied with their TV service than cable subscribers

Canadian satellite TV subscribers are generally more satisfied with their television service than cable subscribers including digital cable customers, according to results from the 2004 wave of Decima Research Inc.’s syndicated consumer research study on digital TV service. But satisfaction ratings were generally lower in Decima’s 2004 survey compared to results from the 2003 survey, something broadcast distributors will want to monitor. Decima Research asked all survey respondents - that is, those who subscribe to either analog or digital television service - to rate their satisfaction with eight different elements of the television service they receive from their television service provider. Using a five-point scale from "very satisfied" to "very dissatisfied," respondents were asked to rank their satisfaction with elements such as quality of picture, customer service and customer care, value for the money for the overall television service, etc. In addition, we asked them to rate their overall satisfaction with their television service provider. According to the 2004 survey results, satellite TV subscribers are more satisfied than cable TV subscribers with all service elements evaluated, except for installation, service or repair calls; reliability of the service; and customer service and customer care (those who say they are "very satisfied" or "somewhat dissatisfied"). With regards to overall satisfaction with their television service provider, satellite TV subscribers show a positive rating of 78% compared to a rating of 73% for digital cable subscribers and 70% for analog cable subscribers. The growing importance of digital television subscribers as a consumer segment (40% of all TV subscribers in Canada) warrants a comparison of their satisfaction levels with those of analog subscribers. This comparison is especially useful in confirming whether or not subscribers perceive and acknowledge the superior TV experience and service digital TV providers claim they provide over analog TV providers. Detailed results of this comparison are presented in the table. Digital TV subscribers are more likely than analog subscribers to be satisfied with all service elements, except for reliability of the service and customer service and customer care. As noted above, satellite TV subscribers (who are digital subscribers) are more satisfied than cable TV subscribers with most service elements evaluated. Further, digital cable subscribers are more satisfied with variety of channels offered; installation, service or repair calls; and with the variety of programming packages offered than analog cable subscribers. The latter are more satisfied with reliability of the service than digital cable subscribers and satellite TV subscribers (79% vs. 76% and 65% respectively). As per Decima’s overall analysis, the ratings of these service elements by TV technology (analog cable, digital cable, satellite TV) are generally lower than those reported in the 2003 survey. Satellite TV, in particular, saw significant declines in ratings for reliability of the service and value for the money for the overall television service year-over-year. Among all TV subscribers (analog and digital), the highest satisfaction rankings are for quality of sound, quality of picture, and reliability of the service, which receive positive satisfaction ratings of greater than 75% (those who say they are "very satisfied" or "somewhat dissatisfied"). The next tier of television service elements in terms of satisfaction includes variety of channels offered; customer service and customer care; and installation, service or repair calls, which receive satisfaction ratings of approximately 65%. At the bottom end of the satisfaction scale, television service elements that receive the lowest satisfaction scores are variety of programming packages offered (56%) and value for the money for the overall television service (46%). Overall among all TV subscribers, all service elements seem to have received a lower satisfaction rating in the 2004 survey compared to the 2003 survey, particularly value for the money for the overall television service (46% vs. 56%), variety of channels offered (66% vs. 73%), reliability of the service (76% vs. 82%), and variety of programming packages offered (56% vs. 62%). Overall satisfaction among all television service subscribers is still relatively high. When rating overall satisfaction with their television service provider, 72% of those who pay for television service say they are "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" - a slightly lower rating than in the 2003 survey (76%). Besides the differences in TV service satisfaction noted above between satellite TV and cable subscribers, and digital subscribers and analog subscribers, there is another TV subscriber sub-segment difference in terms of TV service satisfaction worth highlighting. Women are generally more satisfied than men with respect to their television service. More specifically, they are more likely than men to be "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with the quality of sound; quality of picture; variety of channels offered; customer service and customer care; installation, service or repair calls; variety of programming packages offered; value for the money for the overall television service; and with their overall satisfaction with their television service provider. THE DIGITAL DOMAIN report also analyzes service satisfaction among Canada’s major television service providers - that is, the four biggest cable TV companies and the two main satellite TV service providers. The 2004 wave of The Digital Domain syndicated consumer research study is based on a national telephone survey of 2,002 adult Canadians who subscribe to a TV service conducted in May/June 2004. A survey of this size drawn from the population provides results accurate to within plus or minus 2.2%, 19 times out of 20. Mario Mota is VP Broadcast / Media Research at Decima Research. For more information on The Digital Domain syndicated consumer research study, visit http://www.thedigitaldomain.ca or contact Mario at (613) 751-5089 or by email at mmota@decima.com.

Satellite TV subscribers more satisfied with their TV service than cable subscribers

Broadcast | September 29, 2004

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