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The U.S. cable television industry is feeling more confident going into this year’s Cable Show in New Orleans, with the transition to digital television expected to pay dividends for cable operators.By February of next year, the U.S. government will require the 18 million to 22 million homes that get their television entertainment solely from over-the-air analog broadcast signals to switch to digital televisions.
Digital televisions allow broadcast signals to be compressed, thus freeing up broadcast spectrum that can be sold by the government to media and phone companies.
Though most cable operators already offer digital video to their customers, the government-mandated transition offers a chance to win new first-time or lapsed pay-TV subscribers.
An SNL Kagan study conservatively estimates that 10 percent of those over-the-air U.S. households will opt for pay television after the transition, with cable receiving the majority of converts and satellite and phone companies splitting the remainder.
Comcast Chief Operating Officer Steve Burke said this month that the digital transition offers a “real opportunity” with the 8 million analog broadcast households in its region.
“Many of these people have analog sets and they are going to need to do something,” said Burke.
Time Warner Chief Executive Glenn Britt was more conservative. He said last month he expected a modest pick-up in new subscriptions due to the digital transition.