Tips and News » Cable and Satellite Television » Satellite Customers are Switching to Cable

Satellite Customers are Switching to Cable

According to a new press release by Cox Communications, satellite customers are switching from their current service to Cox triple-play bundles in droves. The company states that among new connections, the percentage of basic cable customers who are former satellite customers has nearly doubled in two years. "In 2004, 6 percent of our basic connects were former satellite customers; in 2006, we've driven that number to 11 percent," said Cox Communications President Patrick Esser. "The convenience and value of buying video, telephone and Internet services from one provider and our superior customer care experience are bringing more and more DBS customers to Cox."

Cox's success in attracting satellite customers helped the company gain approximately 84,000 basic cable customers since July 2005. Advanced video services such as cable-only On DEMAND, high-definition and DVR also contributed to new customer acquisitions and a reduction in churn, Esser commented.

"Former satellite customers are great cable customers; over 40 percent buy the full three-product bundle," Esser said. "We're retaining and winning back the best video customers in the marketplace with bundled services that are individually compelling and a good value. In markets where we've offered the three-product bundle the longest, more than 70 percent of our customers choose two or more services and approximately 40 percent take all three-video, Internet and telephone." Over the last four years, Cox has topped nine national and regional J.D. Power and Associates' studies of customer satisfaction, including highest honors in residential telephone and high-speed Internet and commercial data. Cox also remains the nation's leading provider of cable telephony with more than 1.8 million residential subscribers. Cox has the highest telephony market penetration to basic subscribers of any cable company, at nearly 35 percent. At the close of the second quarter, Cox had more than 3.2 million bundled customers, 5.4 million basic video subscribers, and 3.1 million high-speed Internet customers.