ITC STATISTICS FOR THIRD QUARTER

THE Independent Television Commissions (ITC) statistics for the period up to October 1 2000 show that over five million homes now have cable services.
Overall, cable service penetration continues to rise, and now stands at 38.6 per cent, up from 35.6 per cent in October 1999.
Cable TV penetration has reached a new high, now standing at 26.5 per cent, with 3.43 million homes accessing cable television. Viewers are choosing fewer premium services, as the long term decline in pay/basic ratio - now at 95.4 per cent - indicates.
Many channels will have a substantial additional audience on cable systems elsewhere in Europe, while those channels carried on the Astra satellites are also received by British viewers using individual satellite dishes. Some channels are also distributed on Digital Terrestrial Television.
The ITC cable statistics are published every quarter and are based on returns made to the ITC by every licensed cable operator. The totals of homes receiving programme channels are derived from those figures and checked by the programme companies themselves.
The details for the cable statistics for October 1 2000 can be found on the ITC website at www.itc.org.uk. (CD)