Hot Numbers: FCC’s 70/70 Data Source Explains the Data

HOT NUMBERS: FCC'S 70/70 DATA SOURCE EXPLAINS THE DATA
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Jon Hemingway]
Dan Warren perked up when he realized that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin was using his company's data to reach the "70/70" cable decision. According to Warren, the FCC called Michael Taliaferro, the editor of Warren’s TV and Cable Fact Book, last summer looking for some raw data on the cable industry but gave no indication of how it would be used. Taliaferro supplied two metrics for cable systems with 36 channels or more: the total number of basic subscribers, at 67.16 million, and the total number of homes passed, at 94.18 million. That amounts roughly to a 71% penetration rate. But while the data can be useful for modeling and extrapolation, Dan Warren said he would have issued some caveats to the FCC had the company known the intended use. Since some cable systems did not respond to the survey, the data aren't complete -- indeed, they could be lower than the actual numbers. For the commission to draw an accurate conclusion about penetration, Warren explained, it would have to "fill in the blanks."
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