The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) is claiming that alternative delivery system (ADS) operators, namely direct broadcast satellite video providers, are growing more rapidly than wired cable operators.

TVB tracks ADS penetration, which now reaches 27.8 percent of all TV households as of February, compared with 25.8 percent in February of last year. TVB said the increase was due mostly to the growth of direct satellite transmissions, which are accelerating and “cutting into wired cable's delivery for local advertisers.”

ADS' reach represents 31.4 percent of subscription TV customers. From February 2007 to February of this year, wired cable penetration of TV households increased from 61.3 percent to 61.6 percent.

DBS delivery, which is the largest component of ADS, is now estimated at 27.4 percent of all TV households, up from 25.2 percent in February 2007. The remaining ADS market comprises IPTV systems.

“Advertisers who buy cable locally need to know that local wired cable systems’ ability to deliver commercials continues to erode,” said Susan Cuccinello, SVP of research at TVB. “In fact, 57 markets now have ADS penetration of 40 percent or more of those homes paying for video delivery. Local cable commercials are not seen in ADS homes, and so local advertisers need to deduct the ADS percentage of the audience if they are included in the cable systems’ submissions.”

TVB used Nielsen Media Research data for its analysis.

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