The paid TV business is a competitive business that has no space for amateur. In fact, it is more like a war between these paid TV service providers – namely the cable TV and satellite TV companies.
If you are not too old to remember, you should recall that when the satellite TV providers first came out, the cable TV companies did not give their new opponent much thought. The satellite system was expensive, bulky, messy to be installed, and the program offerings were not attractive at all. Cable service providers were sitting comfortably on their monopoly position.
However things changed, fast.
The satellite TV industry was revolving faster than the cables can imagine. 18” small satellite dish were introduced, cost of satellite equipments dropped sharply, and the installation process turned much easier than before. Then come DirecTV and Dish Network. These two satellite TV providers utilized the small satellite dish system well and the success of satellite TV in late 90s was a big bang on cable’s monopoly.
Nowadays, DirecTV and Dish Network grew up to be two major players that cannot be ignored. Both companies enjoy a steady growth in subscribers and gradually winning the paid TV market share. Where the cable TV industry has reported an annual growth between 10 to 15 percent, top satellite companies, such as Direct TV, boast a market share increase of just fewer than 30% according to a study from The Media Audit.
So the key question to consumers: Is satellite TV offering a better deal than the cables? How does satellite TV matches up to cables: Is satellite TV service better, or the cable TV is still the best?
A quick check on the program offerings, you will noticed that cable TV programs normal come in analog or partly, digital signals, Cable TV’s picture quality are generally good, but not as good as satellite TV that offers 100% digital picture in their broadcast. As for the programming varieties, cable TV offers about 150 channels in general; on the other hand, both Dish Network and DirecTV offer up to 250 programming channels. More over, Dish Network HD program offerings are amazing where they are offering more than 30 HD channels at the time of writing.
How about the pricing? From what we are seeing, satellite TV are giving a much better bargains in initial and monthly cost. In general, cable TV charge you about $40 a month for 64 channels, plus roughly $12 per for digital channels. Installation in one room is $39.95, plus $9.95 for each additional room. While Dish Network basic package starts at $19.99 and DirecTV package starts at $29.99, with no initial charges at all, it is without doubt that satellite TV are much cheaper than the cables.
What make cable TV deals attractive are their bundle services.
Cable TV services normally come along with cable phone and cable broadband services – which is good for most new home buyers. With cable TV bundle package (Comcast for example), you’ll get entertainment, communication, and even high speed Internet services. The service provide much convenience to the users (imagine settling all your home bills with just one company) and also, they (the cable TV) are able to pull down the selling price (due to bulk selling), which in turns create a better value for cable user’s services.
Satellite TV on the other hand has less to offer. Satellite Internet was once offered along side with satellite TV deals. However there are too much of pullbacks in satellite Internet services, namely the latency error and constant disconnection during storms, the offer was not a successful one.
Conclusion: Cable TV or satellite TV?
Both satellite and cable services have their advantages – cable TV bundle services offer you great savings in overall home expenses; satellite TV offer better programming quality in a much cheaper price.
Cable TV vs satellite TV, who has the best? I guess this is not an one-answer-fits-all question. The best advice is to suggest you to review and select the paid TV service that suits your needs the best.
