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China and U.S. are Largest Cable TV Markets

Cable TV operators continue to expand the reach of their cable video and high-speed data services, reports In-Stat. While this pay-TV service expansion is delivering only modest total household growth, it is being offset by solid service revenue gains.

Overall, rising consumer demand for more TV content, combined with the rollout of new voice, video, and data services, is enabling cable TV operators to maintain a market leadership position in both pay-TV services and telecommunications service bundling.

"In many parts of the world, the cable TV industry is currently riding a swell of improving business and customer satisfaction," says Mike Paxton, In-Stat analyst. "This condition is especially notable because the global cable industry has historically had a less-than-stellar reputation for both customer service and overall service value."

In-Stat's study found the following:

- Out of the 1.2 billion TV households around the world, 355 million are currently cable TV households.

- Total worldwide cable TV households are still increasing, although at a modest pace. At the end of 2005, there were 349 million worldwide cable TV households.

- China, with 106 million cable TV households, and the United States, with 69 million cable households, are the two largest cable TV markets.

- Cable modem service continues to be a solid 'cash cow' for cable operators. Worldwide cable modem service revenues are on track to reach $26 billion in 2006, up from $22 billion in 2005.

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