Cable MSOs in stronger triple-play position than telcos, says report

While telephone companies prepare to unleash triple play initiatives spearheaded by telco TV, cable MSOs are in a position that’s stronger than telcos when it comes to offering video, voice and data, according to a report from New Paradigm Resources Group (NPRG).

The report, “Cable Broadband & Telephony Report - 2nd Edition” reveals that cable MSOs are growing on all three fronts of triple play — video, voice and Internet access.

Cable players are successfully defending their core TV business from satellite TV competitors, according to the report. While telephone companies roll out TV services that match cable TV, cable MSOs are raiding the telcos' core markets and winning customers with VoIP and cable modem services that equal telco voice and surpass DSL, it said.

The NPRG report finds two weaknesses in the cable sector: failure to penetrate the business marketplace or to adopt wireless strategies that position them to offer quadruple play services.

Key findings of NPRG's report include:

  • Overall cable industry revenue will grow nearly 30 percent in five years, from $61.1 billion in 2005 to $79.3 billion in 2009.
  • Cable TV revenue growth will remain a solid core business, growing from an expected $38.4 billion in 2005 to $44.8 billion in 2008. In 2009, cable TV revenue will feel the first serious impact of competition from IPTV, declining slightly to $42.6 billion. However, this attrition in the core cable TV market will be more than offset by gains in cable companies' cable modem and VoIP revenue.
  • Cable modems should continue to keep pace with and exceed the capabilities of DSL, fueling a near doubling of growth from $11.4 billion in 2005 to $20.2 billion in 2009.
  • Telephony will continue to make an important contribution to cable revenue, more than doubling from $2.6 billion in 2005 to $5.9 billion in 2009.

For more information, visit www.nprg.com.