TV subscriber growth to slow in 2007

TV SUBSCRIBER GROWTH TO SLOW IN 2007
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Yinka Adegoke]
Troubles in the U.S. housing sector are likely to spill over into the pay-television market, where analysts are forecasting a drop in subscriber growth this year. Experts expect satellite TV operators DirecTV Group Inc. and EchoStar Communications Corp. to see the most marked cool-off. These companies have traditionally taken the lion's share of new customers because they can service areas outside big cities, where there is little or no cable coverage. But analysts say these regions are also among the hardest hit by the slowdown in the housing market, which has recently been exacerbated by the recent crisis in the subprime loan market that serves borrowers with weak credit histories.
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