Cable Penetration Hits 17-Year Low

CABLE TELEVISION HITS 17-YEAR LOW
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Steve Donohue]
Cable penetration dropped to a 17-year low of 61.3% in February, as pay TV competition from direct-broadcast satellite and telephone rivals continues to eat into the basic-subscriber counts of cable distributors. The number of cable subscribers dropped to 68.3 million in February, down from 70.6 million in February 2005, according to an analysis of Nielsen Media Research data conducted by the Television Bureau of Advertising. Combined DBS penetration from DirecTV and EchoStar Communications hit 25.2% in February, up from 21% this time last year, TVB said.
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