Cable Still Dominates in Top Ten U.S. Multichannel Markets

New report analyzes subscriber locations, dominant distribution methods, multichannel penetration rates and MSO trends market-by-market

MONTEREY, Calif. — SNL Kagan, in partnership with MediaBiz, has released a special report on the U.S. multichannel video market, which analyzes subscriber counts, penetration and operator performance nationwide and by market.

According to the report, the multichannel video market expanded from 97 million video subscribers at year-end 2008 to 99.9 million as of year-end 2009; however, performance was mixed among the three distribution categories. Cable subscribers slipped from 62.6 million to 62.1 million, while DBS subscribers had a healthy increase from 31.3 million to 32.7 million. Telco showed the biggest gains, with video subscribers growing 65%, from 3.1 million to 5.1 million.

The analysis shows that cable is still the dominant provider in the top ten markets in the U.S., with the highest relative market share in Boston at 74.9%. DBS has its highest share in Atlanta, with 43.4% of the video market, while telco’s strongest foothold is in Dallas-Ft. Worth at 14.1%.

The multichannel special report will be available at SNL Kagan’s booth (#2220) at The Cable Show 2010, May 11-13 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

SNL Kagan provides comprehensive information on the multichannel industry, ranging from cable MSOs, satellite operators and telco video providers, to cable TV programming and technology. In strategic partnership with MediaBiz, SNL Kagan now offers geographic multichannel data, such as basic and digital subscribers by provider for the top 10 cable MSOs, DBS subscribers by provider and telco subscribers by TV provider. To learn more or to subscribe, contact SNLKaganSales@snl.com or 866.296.3743.

This data is available as part of the SNL Information Service. To find out more, contact sales@snl.com or 866.296.3743.