DirecTV ranked highest in customer satisfaction in three regions and WOW! ranked highest in one region among cable and satellite providers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Residential Cable/Satellite Satisfaction Study released Wednesday.
The study measures customer satisfaction with cable and satellite providers in four regional segments: North Central, East, West and South. Within each segment, six factors are measured to determine overall customer satisfaction: performance and reliability; customer service; cost of service; image; billing; and offerings and promotions. Customer satisfaction with cable/satellite provider performance is reported as an index score based on a 1,000-point scale.
DirecTV ranked highest in the East (with an index score of 690), West (675), and South (682) regions. Although the provider ranked highest in the 2003 and 2004 studies, 2007 marks the first year that DirecTV lead in the West and South regions, and the second consecutive year it ranked highest in the East since the study was changed to a regional study. Additionally, DirecTV made considerable improvement in the performance and reliability factor in 2007.
"DirecTV’s highest ranking by J.D. Power and Associates has expanded to three U.S. regions this year and clearly reflects the performance and reliability of our service, as well as the hard work and dedication of all DirecTV employees and our business partners to improve the customer experience," John Suranyi, DirecTV’s president of sales and service, said in a prepared statement.
"As our business continues to grow and significantly more of our customers adopt advanced services like HD and DVRs, the need for superior customer satisfaction becomes even more critical," Suranyi said. "It is important that our customers not only have the best television viewing experience available, but also the best customer service experience as well and we are committed to improving all aspects of our business to achieve this goal."
In the North Central region, WOW! ranked highest for a second consecutive year with an index score of 729 points, the highest satisfaction score in the study and 21 points higher than the provider’s 2006 score. WOW! performs particularly well in the North Central region in all six factors driving overall satisfaction.
The 2007 Residential Cable/Satellite Satisfaction Study is based on responses from 17,033 U.S. households that evaluated their satellite or cable TV provider. Fielding for the study was conducted in April 2007.
