The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) reports that more Americans than ever are receiving video programming from alternate delivery systems (ADS), primarily satellite TV. But its analysis of Nielsen data also found that cable penetration gained as well in the midst of the DTV transition.
As of May 2009, 28.4% of US television households were getting video service from an ADS, up from 28.1% a year earlier. That took ADS to 31.7% of all subscription television customers (anyone paying for cable/satellite/telco/other video services).
Meanwhile, though, wired cable penetration rose to 61.8% from 61.4% in May 2008. So, an increasing number of households are paying for a video service, rather than relying on over-the-air reception via an antenna. The combined total of cable and ADS for May 2009 was 90.2% of all households.
Top 10 in Markets 1-50 |
|||
DMA |
ADS as % |
|
|
1 |
Albuquerque-Santa Fe |
42.5 |
51.5 |
2 |
Salt Lake City |
39.5 |
48.4 |
3 |
Greenvll-Spart-Ashevll-And |
42.4 |
47.7 |
4 |
Dallas-Ft. Worth |
37.7 |
45.8 |
5 |
Birmingham (Ann and Tusc) |
41.9 |
45.7 |
6 |
Memphis |
39.2 |
44.8 |
7 |
St. Louis |
38.4 |
44.0 |
8 |
Sacramnto-Stkton-Modesto |
38.2 |
42.7 |
9 |
Los Angeles |
36.1 |
41.9 |
10 |
Atlanta |
38.6 |
40.8 |
* Wired cable, telco, or ADS systems such as satellite. |
|||
Top 10 in Markets 51-100 |
|||
DMA |
ADS as % |
|
|
1 |
Springfield, MO |
50.1 |
62.4 |
2 |
Shreveport |
53.1 |
58.8 |
3 |
Little Rock-Pine Bluff |
48.6 |
54.4 |
4 |
Fresno-Visalia |
41.6 |
53.4 |
5 |
Paducah-Cape Girard-Harsbg |
47.0 |
52.9 |
6 |
Jackson, MS |
47.8 |
52.7 |
7 |
Spokane |
43.2 |
50.2 |
8 |
Colorado Springs-Pueblo |
41.6 |
49.0 |
9 |
Roanoke-Lynchburg |
42.8 |
47.9 |
10 |
South Bend-Elkhart |
37.2 |
45.8 |
* Wired cable, telco, or ADS systems such as satellite. |
|||
Top 10 in Markets 100+ |
|||
DMA |
ADS as % |
|
|
1 |
Columbus-Tupelo-West Point |
54.8 |
61.2 |
2 |
Chico-Redding |
49.8 |
59.3 |
3 |
Boise |
43.5 |
58.4 |
4 |
Meridian |
51.9 |
58.0 |
5 |
Idaho Fals-Pocatllo(Jcksn) |
45.3 |
57.0 |
6 |
Tyler-Longview(Lfkn&Ncgd) |
52.2 |
56.8 |
7 |
Columbia-Jefferson City |
46.4 |
56.0 |
8 |
Missoula |
44.6 |
55.7 |
9 |
Sherman-Ada |
46.7 |
53.1 |
10 |
Joplin-Pittsburg |
42.4 |
52.6 |
* Wired cable, telco, or ADS systems such as satellite. |
|||
Source: Nielsen Media Research/NSI, May 2009
RBR/TVBR observation: The next report from TVB should be even more interesting. How many households started paying for a video service, whether cable or ADS, once the digital transition was complete?