• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, August 21, 2004

According to the State of Digital and Interactive Television 2004 study from Horowitz Associates of 800 cable and satellite consumers, 28% of consumers surveyed say they have digital cable service while 20% have a satellite dish. In all, 45% of multichannel households in markets where digital cable is available are on the digital platform, either from their cable or satellite provider.

Data from this study suggest that consumers on digital cable's more robust platform are more likely to fit the profile of high-end technology consumers.

• 65% of digital cable subscribers in this study pay for premium channels
• 42% of these subscribers paying for two or more of those channels
• 55% of the satellite subscribers interviewed say they pay for premium channels
• 37% are multi-pay premium subscribers
• average monthly cost of cable among digital cable subscribers in this study is $72.34, compared to $55.74 a month for the satellite subs.

"Over the past few years there has been an important shift in the marketing and consumer perception of the competing platforms." says Howard Horowitz, president, Horowitz Associates, Inc. "Digital cable's positioning and pricing puts itself in the category of a more expensive, but valuable service, because it can deliver technology and services that simply is not available on satellite. The satellite providers, aware of the limitations of their platform, have successfully shifted their focus from attracting the 'early adopter techies' to appealing to the budget-conscious consumer."

Market potential for digital cable remains strong, concludes the report. When cable subscribers who do not currently subscribe to digital are read a description of the service and asked about their likelihood to subscribe for $10 more a month, 14% say they would be very likely/likely to upgrade. In addition, 8% of current satellite homes are considering a switch to digital cable.

You can find out more here.