Satellite tops US customer satisfaction survey; cable closes in

Satellite tops US customer satisfaction survey; cable closes in

MUMBAI: The customer satisfaction annual survey conducted by JD Power & Associates in the US has satellite TV leading over cable TV. The study observes that the gap has narrowed down over the years.

Overall, satellite TV service got a satisfaction score of 723 on the 1,000-point scale, while digital cable service got 659 and non-digital service got 621.

Dish network satellite service providers EchoStar Communications and satellite TV provider DirecTV won the number one and number two spots respectively in the customer satisfaction survey.
Reportedly, Cablevision Systems Corp. tied for last place with Adelphia Communications and Charter Communications, with a score of 617 out of 1,000, compared with the overall average score of 664. Time Warner Cable ranked just below average with 656. Comcast Communications, the biggest cable provider, was placed below Time Warner with a score of 633.

According to reports, in the latest survey customer satisfaction with cable rose at twice the rate of satellite. Another encouraging sign for cable surfaced in the survey is, 44 percent of cable customers want to combine their cable service with other telecommunications services, such as Internet access or phone service.

Time Warner Cable spokesman Keith Cocozza is quoted in media reports as saying, "We've made strides, but recognize there is still work to do," adding that the company is focused on providing "the most choice at t