Customers expressed an increased level of satisfaction with their cable- and satellite-service providers in the first quarter of this year, according to the quarterly American Customer Satisfaction Index, which is a first for the category since it was added among the industries ranked by the survey.
The report, from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, indicated that product bundling and new product offerings such as digital-video recorders are improving the perception of benefit from providers. Subscribers are reacting positively to price savings and the convenience of a single bill.
Overall, DirecTV Inc. was the highest-ranked provider. Cox Communications Inc. was the highest-ranked cable provider.
The ASCI is complied by asking consumers questions about the perceived value and quality of product or services of a target company. These responses are measured against customer complaints and customer loyalty to come up with scores, 0-100, for providers in categories from airlines to utilities.
In the cable/satellite category, both DirecTV and EchoStar Communications Corp. scored higher than cable and higher than the average satisfaction score established for the category. Cox equaled the average satisfaction score, as did Time Warner Cable. Comcast Corp. increased its satisfaction rate more than 3% but was still not as beloved by its customers as Cox or Time Warner. Charter Communications Inc.’s score declined 1.8% compared with the previous quarter.
