An online study will be conducted in June/July among a national sample of 1,200 DBS subscribers. The questionnaire will be similar to the Beta Research Cable Subscriber Study – Evaluation of Cable Networks and the Beta Research Cable Subscriber Study – Evaluation of Digital Basic Networks. The following will be included:
- Aided awareness of each digital basic network.
- Five favorite cable/satellite networks.
- Whether watched specific cable/satellite networks.
- Satisfaction of Cable/Satellite Networks – Respondents rate each channel viewed on the scale of “Very Satisfied,” “Fairly Satisfied,” “Not Very Satisfied,” or “Not At All Satisfied.”
- Importance of Cable/Satellite Networks – Respondents indicate whether a network is important or unimportant to enjoyment of satellite TV.
- Perceived Value of Cable/Satellite Networks – Persons who ever watch, estimate the amount that a network would be worth, if it were sold by itself.
- Being a Must Have Network – Respondents rate each channel viewed on a scale of 1 to 5 where “5” means “it’s must have channel on your cable channel lineup and “1” means “it’s a channel not at all needed on your channel lineup”
- Likelihood to switch cable provider if important cable channels are dropped.
- Profile of Sample – Internet usage, usage of social media, viewership of TV on smartphone/tablet, marital status, presence of teens or children, age, education, occupation, household income, subscription to DirecTV or Dish Network.
Networks to be measured are primarily networks from:
- DirecTV’s Choice Extra/Premium Packages
- Dish Network’s 200/250 Packages
Over 60 basic/digital basic networks are measured.
Results are reported separately among age/sex groups, DirecTV subscribers, Dish Network subscribers, heavy social media users, viewers of TV on smartphone/tablet, persons who would definitely switch cable provider if important channels were dropped.