Highlights

1. In 2008, the operating revenues of cable and satellite television companies rose 14.4% to $10.3 billion (current dollars). It was the third consecutive year that the industry had revenue growth in excess of 10%.
2. Each dollar of revenue earned by cable and satellite television companies in 2008 generated 21.6 cents of profit before interest and taxes, the strongest performance since the beginning of the decade. However, profitability varied appreciably across the major segments of the industry.
3. Wireless service providers, especially satellite providers, had a profit margin before interest and taxes of 4.1%, compared with 25.9% for cable operators.
4. On August 31, 2008, cable operators had almost as many telecommunications subscribers (Internet and telephone) as television subscribers.
5. The total number of cable television subscribers, regardless of technology, grew by 2.3% in 2008. It was the largest year-over-year increase since 1993.
6. Growing numbers of cable television subscribers are going digital. There were 4 million digital cable subscribers on August 31, 2008, 19.9% more than on August 31, 2007. The absolute year-over-year increase was a record 663,134.
7. The growth in the number of cable television subscribers (+2.3%) outpaced the growth in the number of wireless service subscribers (+1.5%) for a second consecutive year. This enabled cable operators to regain a small portion of the ground they lost to competitors in the last 10 years.