A telephone survey among cable operators will be conducted in August-November. Question areas include the following:
- Basic Network Companies Most Helpful with TV Everywhere Efforts – Operators will be asked to name unaided the five basic network programmers that are most helpful.
- Basic Network Companies Most Creative with New Online Content Delivery Options – Operators will be asked to name unaided the five basic network companies that are most creative in this area.
- Basic Network Companies with Best Marketing Support – Operators will be asked to name unaided the five basic network companies that provide them with the best overall marketing support services.
- Basic Networks/Network Groups Most Requested by Customers During Pandemic – Operators will be asked to name unaided the five basic networks or companies that are most requested..
- Importance of Networks – Operators indicate whether the network is very important, fairly important or unimportant to their cable system.
- Perceived Value of Networks – Operators will be asked to estimate the amount per subscriber the network is worth to their system.
- Helpfulness During Pandemic – Operators will be asked to rate on a 5-point scale how helpful the network organization is with dealing with the business impact of the coronavirus pandemic including being flexible on deals, renewals and license fees and offering free previews
- Evaluation of Affiliate Web Site – For each site visited, operators will rate the affiliate Web site on a scale of 5 to 1 where “5” means “Excellent” and “1” means “Poor.”
- Whether respondent met with affiliate representative in person, online or by phone in past twelve months.
- Evaluation of Affiliate Representatives – Operators will rate the affiliate representatives of each basic network company on a scale of 5 to 1 where “5” means “Excellent” and “1” means “Poor.”
The study measures over 40 basic networks and 12 network groups/companies
80 to 100 interviews will be completed with General Managers or Marketing Directors. A quota will be established to insure that a minimum of 50% of the final sample will be from systems with 75,000 or more subscribers. Certain results will be compared to past Beta studies.