Bundles Improve Cable Users’ Satisfaction?

An update to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index finds consumers are thinking better of cable and satellite TV, but not because the service is cheaper or better.

An first-quarter update to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) finds that cable and satellite television providers, long one of the lowest-scoring industries surveyed in terms of consumer satisfaction, saw an uptick in consumer satisfaction during the first quarter of 2006. That’s right: the cable and TV industries posted a three percent gain, bringing their overall level of customer satisfaction to a whopping 63 percent.

Yes, that’s still a pretty low score. Software giant Microsoft pulls in a 73, and cram-’em-in-like-sardines discount air carrier Southwest merits a 74.

Leading the cable and satellite TV industry is DirecTV, which achieved a consumer satisfaction rating of 71, a jump of six percent; other firms remained largely stable with the exception of Charter Communications, which saw its satisfaction level drop two percent fo 55, by far the lowest in the industry. Near the top of the heap: EchoStar, with a satisfaction level of 68; next-to-last, Comcast, with a satisfaction score of 60.

What’s curious about these numbers is that cable and satellite television services haven’t gone down industry-wide, and the study’s analysis claims there’s little evidence cable or satellite television service has actually improved over the course of the survey. The most likely explanation, then, is that service bundling