TV Basics Alternate Delivery Systems: National

TV Basics: Wired Cable and Alternate
Delivery Systems – National
Recently, new systems for delivering the television signal have emerged, causing some speculation about the long-term outlook for the more traditional wired-cable approach. Currently 28.4% (July '08) of all TV households have a form of ADS. The most popular and fastest growing is DBS, the small home satellite dish usually about 18 inches in diameter.

		% TV Households						% Subscription TV Households

		SMATV	MMDS	Satellite Dish (Lg.)	DBS	Total ADS	Wired Cable	ADS	Wired Cable

	Feb 1996	1.0	1.1	1.9	1.1	5.0	68.0	6.9	93.7
	May 1996	0.9	1.2	1.9	1.4	5.4	68.4	7.3	93.2
	Jul 1996	0.8	1.2	1.8	1.9	5.7	68.1	7.7	92.7
	Nov 1996	0.9	1.3	1.8	2.1	6.0	69.5	7.9	92.5
	Feb 1997	0.9	1.2	1.5	2.7	6.2	69.8	8.2	92.6
	May 1997	0.9	1.1	1.7	2.9	6.5	69.9	8.5	92.2
	Jul 1997	0.9	1.1	1.7	3.2	6.9	69.4	9.1	91.6
	Nov 1997	1.1	1.2	1.6	3.8	7.6	69.4	10.0	90.9
	Feb 1998	1.2	1.0	1.5	4.8	8.4	70.1	10.8	90.4
	May 1998	0.8	1.2	1.4	5.3	8.6	70.0	11.0	90.0
	Jul 1998	0.7	1.0	1.4	5.5	8.6	70.1	11.0	90.0
	Nov 1998	0.7	0.9	1.5	5.9	9.0	69.8	11.5	89.5
	Feb 1999	0.9	0.9	1.4	6.1	9.1	70.0	11.7	89.4
	May 1999	0.7	0.9	1.3	6.5	9.4	70.0	12.0	89.1
	Jul 1999	0.6	0.9	1.2	6.6	9.3	70.5	11.7	89.4
	Nov 1999	0.7	0.8	0.9	6.8	9.1	70.7	11.6	89.4
	Feb 2000	0.8	0.7	0.9	7.5	9.8	70.4	12.4	89.0
	May 2000	0.8	0.6	1.1	7.9	10.2	70.9	12.8	88.6
	Jul 2000	0.9	0.6	1.2	8.7	11.2	70.3	14.0	87.4
	Nov 2000	0.8	0.6	1.0	9.2	11.4	70.2	14.2	87.2
	Feb 2001	0.8	0.6	0.8	9.9	11.9	71.0	14.6	86.6
	May 2001	0.7	0.5	0.7	11.0	12.7	70.8	15.5	85.9
	Jul 2001	0.6	0.5	0.7	11.7	13.4	70.4	16.2	85.1
	Nov 2001	0.6	0.4	0.7	12.3	13.9	70.5	16.7	84.7
	Feb 2002	0.7	0.4	0.5	13.2	14.7	70.3	17.5	83.9
	May 2002	0.6	0.3	0.5	13.8	15.1	70.6	17.9	83.7
	Jul 2002	0.5	0.3	0.5	13.8	15.0	70.3	17.9	83.8
	Nov 2002	0.6	0.3	0.5	15.3	16.5	69.1	19.6	82.2
	Feb 2003	0.6	0.3	0.4	15.6	16.7	68.6	19.9	82.0
	May 2003	0.6	0.2	0.5	15.8	17.0	68.1	20.3	81.5
	Jul 2003	0.6	0.2	0.4	15.8	16.9	67.9	20.3	81.6
	Nov 2003	0.4	0.2	0.4	15.8	18.2	67.4	21.7	80.4
	Feb 2004	0.5	0.2	0.5	17.3	18.8	67.5	22.2	79.8
	May 2004	0.5	0.1	0.4	17.8	18.9	67.1	22.4	79.4
	Jul 2004	0.5	0.0	0.4	18.0	18.9	66.9	22.3	79.2
	Nov 2004	0.5	0.0	0.3	18.5	19.2	66.4	22.7	78.6
	Feb 2005	0.4	0.0	0.2	19.2	19.7	65.8	23.3	77.9
	May 2005	0.4	0.0	0.2	20.0	20.5	65.4	24.1	77.1
	Jul 2005	0.5	0.0	0.2	19.7	20.3	65.8	23.9	77.3
	Nov 2005	0.5	0.1	0.2	20.2	20.8	64.8	24.5	76.3
	Feb 2006	0.5	0.1	0.1	21.0	21.6	64.1	25.5	75.5
	May 2006	0.5	0.1	0.1	22.0	22.6	63.4	26.5	74.4
	Jul 2006	0.5	0.1	0.1	22.7	23.3	62.8	27.3	73.7
	Nov 2006	0.4	0.0	0.1	24.0	24.5	62.1	28.5	72.4
	Feb 2007	0.5	0.0	0.1	25.2	25.8	61.3	29.8	71.0
	May 2007	0.5	0.0	0.0	26.5	27.1	61.2	30.9	70.0
	Jul 2007	0.5	0.0	0.0	27.0	27.5	61.1	31.3	69.6
	Nov 2007	0.4	0.0	0.0	27.6	28.0	61.3	31.6	69.3
	Feb 2008	0.4	0.0	0.0	27.4	27.8	61.6	31.4	69.6
	May 2008	0.4	0.0	0.0	27.7	28.1	61.4	31.7	69.3
	Jul 2008	0.3	0.0	0.0	28.2	28.4	60.9	32.1	68.8

Satellite Master Antenna (SMATV): Serves housing complexes and hotels. Signals received via satellite and distributed by coaxial cable. Microwave Multi Distribution System (MMDS): Distributes signals by microwave. Home receiver picks up signal, then distributes via internal wiring. Satellite Dish (C-BAND/KU BAND) "BIG DISH": Household receives transmissions from a satellite(s), via a 1- to 3- meter dish. Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS): Satellite service delivered directly via household's own small (usually 18") dish. Source: Nielsen Media Research/NTI; People Meter Sample

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