ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 3, 1997 TAG: 9701030078
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Competitors may be snatching some of their customers, but cable television companies remain dominant in their industry, according to a government report released Thursday.
The Federal Communications Commission report, required by the 1992 Cable Act, confirms what many already suspected: Cable's competition is growing, but there is a ``very limited number of instances where incumbent cable system operators face competition.''
It was the FCC's third report on the subject.
Of the 71 million homes in 1996 receiving television either through cable or a competitor, including direct-broadcast satellite, wireless cable and home satellite dishes, cable providers accounted for about 64 million homes, the FCC says. That's almost 89 percent of the market.
Although the number of cable TV subscribers has increased from 1995, the industry's market share has inched down to 89 percent from 91.4 percent during the same period, the report said.
Cox Communications Inc., the Roanoke region's dominant cable television provider, reported having 55,605 customers, or about 72 percent of the 77,030 homes for which cable was available. Those figures are for the end of 1995, the latest available.
The fastest-growing cable competitor nationwide is direct-broadcast satellite, or DBS, which beams television and other services directly into homes via high-powered satellite. People receive programming through pizza-sized dishes.
The FCC said the number of DBS subscribers increased from 1.7 million to nearly 4 million at the end of October 1996. The increase was attributed in part to two new DBS providers - AlphaStar and EchoStar.
LENGTH: Short : 42 linesby CNB