Satellite TV Growth Is Losing Altitude As Cable Takes Off

SATELLITE TV GROWTH IS LOSING ALTITUDE AS CABLE TAKES OFF
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal 8/5, AUTHOR: Julia Angwin julia.angwin@wsj.com and Andy Pasztor andy.pasztor@wsj.com]
A decade-long growth spurt for U.S. satellite-television broadcasters is sputtering amid a resurgent cable industry and changes in what consumers want from their TV providers. The nation's two leading satellite companies, DirecTV Group Inc. and EchoStar Communications Corp. are seeing a sharp slowdown in the number of new subscribers. In the last year, their gains have shrunk to half of what they were during the industry's heyday early in this decade, and they are projected to decline further. Meanwhile, the cable-TV industry, after years of seeing satellite steal market share and customers by pitching better service and more variety, is regaining ground. Companies like Time Warner Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp. are wooing customers by providing video, telephone and high-speed Internet services in an attractively priced "triple play" bundle. Technology differences prevent satellite providers from offering phone service and limit their ability to offer high-speed Internet access. The shift in fortunes reflects broader changes in the competitive TV landscape. Subscription services now can reach most of the nation's 110 million households. About 66.5 million homes are cable subscribers and 27 million use a satellite service. With popular channels now available on both platforms, services are growing increasingly commoditized.
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