Cable subscribers are switching to digital cable at a rapid pace, according to an annual survey released last week by J.D. Power and Associates. Of the 58 percent of American households that subscribe to cable, 41 percent have digital cable — up 11 percentage points from 2005.
Upgrades to digital are becoming easier and more popular, as cable and phone providers move to offer consumers the big three — cable, telephone and Internet — in one package.
“Digital service is the key for consumers in taking advantage of the aggressively marketed ‘triple play’ bundle of digital video, voice and Internet services,” said Steve Kirkeby, executive director of telecommunications and technology research at J.D. Power and Associates. “With analog cable subscribers increasingly converting to digital, this becomes a major advantage for cable companies in the race against satellite providers to maintain market share.”
Locally, Verizon — which offers cable, phone and Internet service to customers in Northern Virginia and Maryland — offers both digital and analog cable options.
“The overwhelming majority are choosing the digital packages,” said Christy Reap, a spokeswoman for the company. She estimated that 99 percent of customers chose digital.
But despite digital cable’s increasing popularity, satellite subscriptions -— which are also digital — are making gains on cable providers. Currently, 29 percent of U.S. households subscribe to satellite service, up from 27 percent in 2005.
Cable subscriptions were down from 60 percent in 2005.
To combat those gains, some cable and phone providers have struck deals with satellite companies in order to take back market share. For example, Verizon recently signed a deal with satellite provider DirectTV to market their products jointly.
