Pay-TV Services Decline On Customer-Satisfaction Survey

Customer satisfaction with cable and satellite TV services dropped in the first quarter, even as overall U.S. consumer confidence was up in the period, according to a quarterly survey produced by the University of Michigan's business school. The American Customer Satisfaction Index climbed 0.4% in the first three months of the year, to 76 on a 100-point scale, the second straight quarterly improvement. However, the average score for pay-TV services fell 2%, to 63, compared with a year ago -- a score that puts cable and satellite TV behind airlines, hotels, wireless carriers, fixed-line phone services, energy utilities, and fast-food and full-service restaurants. "To be in the low 60s is not really a good place to be," Claes Fornell, founder of the ASCI and University of Michigan business professor, said in an interview. "I'm surprised the numbers aren't improving more."