Cable and Premium TV Market

March 12, 2012 — The Editors

Cable TV revenues

Economic data show that most industries in the United States saw declines of some sort during the recent recession and accompanying financial crisis of 2007—2009. One industry which appears to have weathered the downturn without noticable declines is the pay television broadcasting industry. It is true that the growth they’ve seen may have been larger were it not for the economic downturn. Nonetheless, as can be seen based on overall revenue the industry’s growth trajectory has shown not a blip as can be seen in the chart.

Today’s market size post is based on industry revenues for cable services from basic and premium broadcasting as well as installation services and high speed Internet access through cable lines.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2000 and 2010
Market size: $36.43 and 93.37 billion respectively
Source: “Table 1142. Cable and Premium TV—Summary: 1975 to 2010,” 2012 Statistical Abstract of the United States, December 2011, U.S. Census Bureau, page 717, available online here.
Original source: SNL Kagan, a division of SNL Financial L.C.
Posted on March 12, 2012

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Cable Programming & Distribution

February 27, 2012 — The Editors

The U.S. economy is divided into large categories for the purpose of tracking economic activity and the “Information” sector of the economy is where such things as publishing, broadcasting and telectommunications reside. The rise of the digital age is having a major impact on the activites of this sector but for some it is a very possitive impact while for others the transition is more challenging. The cable business is one of the industries in this sector that is seeing robust growth in revenue and over the last five years has shown no sign of slowdown despite the recession and subsequent finacial crisis of 2007-2009.

Today’s market size is the size of the U.S. cable program distribution and subscription programming industry in 2005 and 2010. These industries are designated with the folloiwng NAICS codes: 5152 (Cable and other subscrioion programming) and 5175 (Cable and other program distribution).

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2005 and 2010
Market size: $117.1 and $176.5 billion respectively
Source: “Table 3.0.1 Information Sector (NAICS 51)—Estimated Revenue for Employer Firms: 2005 through 2010,” Service Annual Survey, February 2, 2012, available online here.
Posted on February 27, 2012

Posted in Broadcasting, Digital Distribution, Entertainment. No Comments »

Ham Radio Operators

December 9, 2011 — The Editors

Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, uses a designated “radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication,” according to Wikipedia. Ham radio operations are coordinated by the International Telecommunication Union. Ham radio operators must demonstrate knowledge in electronics and regulations in order to obtain a license for their radio station. Once licensed, the ham radio operator can communicate with people throughout the world.

Amateur radio began in the late 19th Century. By the late 20th Century, the hobby’s
popularity was waning; however in the early 21st Century, ham radio saw a surge in the number of enthusiasts. By 2010, the number of ham radio licenses in the United States had increased 60 percent since 1981. In 2007, the United States Federal Communications Commission stopped requiring knowledge of Morse Code in order to obtain a license. The increase in ham radio licenses has been attributed to this. In 2010 alone, there were 30,000 new applications for ham radio licenses.

Today’s market share is the total number of people that have ham radio licenses in the United States.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010
Market Size: 700,000
Source: Matt Sepic, “Ham Radio Growing in the Age of Twitter,” NPR, April 5, 2010, available online here and “Amateur Radio,” Wikipedia, available online here.
Posted on December 9, 2011

Posted in Broadcasting, Information Technology, National Infrastructure, Telecommunications. No Comments »

BBC Funding

April 29, 2011 — The Editors

As a bit of a tip-of-the-hat to the royal wedding being celebrated today, we look at the company that will no doubt lead the rest in covering this event, the British Broadcasting Corporation, known around the world as the BBC. Today’s market size is the estimated total value of the annual licensing fee which is levied on every U.K. household that has a television set. This fee was established under law in 1922 and although controversial today, remains in place. The sum collected makes up approximately 80 percent of the BBC’s annual budget.

Geographic reference: United Kingdom
Year: 2010
Market size: £3.6 Billion (approximately $5.6 Billion based on the exchange rate at the end of 2010)
Source: Lyall, Sarah and Eric Pfanner, “The Beeb Is Struggling to Tighten Its Belt,” The New York Times, April 24, 2011, page B1.
Original Source: BBC

Posted in Broadcasting, Information Technology, National Infrastructure. 2 Comments »
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