Cable customer’s continue to be dissatisfied and are likely to leave for telcoTV and DBS competitors unless cable companies react. This according to a new research report from Parks Associates. “Cable subscribers are generally less satisfied, which creates opportunities for satellite and telco/IPTV providers to grab customers,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president, principal analyst, Parks Associates. Parks recommends that cable companies address poor satisfaction ratings by offering more and better enhanced services like VoD. “Subscribers who actively use primetime VoD services show significantly higher satisfaction levels,” Scherf said.
There have been similar findings by J.D. Power that suggest lower satisfaction for video services among cable subscribers, when compared with telcoTV subscribers. AT&T and Verizon have done a decent job of differentiating their video product on features. Verizon has leveraged the FTTH “advantage” quite well, and AT&T has leveraged features like universal HD and HD DVR set top boxes. Parks’ research findings seem to support this perceived advantage. Maybe the perception of new and better features translates to more customer satisfaction, assuming those features are user friendly and cost competitive. TelcoTV services have apparently achieved that perception – more/better features at the same or better cost. Can they maintain that perception over the long term?
