Improved Network Performance and Reliability Drive Satisfaction With Residential TV and ISP Providers, as More Households Connect Digitally

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J.D. Power

Sep 24, 2015, 09:00 ET

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Sept. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Scores for network performance and reliability have improved, the number of U.S. households connected to digital service has grown and satisfaction has increased across wireline offerings, according to three U.S. wireline studies released today: the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction StudySM; the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction StudySM; and the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Residential Telephone Service Provider Satisfaction StudySM.

For information about the three studies, visit:
http://www.jdpower.com/resource/us-residential-television-customer-satisfaction-study 
http://www.jdpower.com/resource/us-residential-internet-service-provider-customer-satisfaction-study 
http://www.jdpower.com/resource/jd-power-2014-residential-telephone-customer-satisfaction-study

The annual wireline studies evaluate residential customers' experiences with TV, Internet and phone services in four regions: East, South, North Central and West. The ISP and telephone studies measure customer satisfaction across five factors: network performance and reliability; cost of service; billing; communication; and customer service. The TV study measures satisfaction in those same five factors plus another one, programming. Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale.

In 2015, 25 percent of U.S. households with Internet service report having a fiber optic connection, which may also provide TV and Internet service, a 5 percentage point increase from 2013 (20%). At the same time, overall satisfaction with these wireline services has increased as well. For example, customer satisfaction with television service has increased by a significant 24 points to 723 in 2015 from 699 in 2013. The main reason for the overall increase has been a 39-point rise in satisfaction in the network performance and reliability factor during the period.

"The ability to provide a high-quality experience with all wireline services is paramount, as performance and reliability is the most critical driver of overall satisfaction," said Kirk Parsons, senior director and technology, media & telecom practice leader at J.D. Power. "The fact that households continue to choose to upgrade their wireline connection to digital service is a testament to its improved performance and benefits, such as higher quality video and faster Internet speeds."

According to Parsons, as expectations regarding usage, performance quality and reliability continue to evolve, companies that understand these dynamics will be better positioned to provide a more satisfying customer experience, which can lead to higher levels of overall satisfaction and higher rates of retention, advocacy and return on investment.

KEY FINDINGS

Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study

  • DIRECTV (771) ranks highest in TV customer satisfaction in the East region; AT&T U-verse and DIRECTV (750) rank highest (in a tie) in the North Central region; Verizon FiOS (777) ranks highest in the South region; and DISH Network (761) ranks highest in the West region.
  • Overall satisfaction with television service providers has increased by 12 points to 723 in 2015 from 711 in 2014.
  • Satisfaction with network performance and reliability has improved to 765 in 2015, an increase of 22 points from 2014. This follows a 17-point increase between 2014 and 2013.
  • Fifty-three percent of highly satisfied residential television customers (overall satisfaction scores of 900 or higher) say they "definitely will not" switch providers in the next 12 months, compared with only 10 percent of dissatisfied customers (scores below 550) who say the same.

Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study

  • Verizon ranks highest in ISP customer satisfaction in the East (738), South (749) and West (731) regions; AT&T (726) ranks highest in the North Central region.
  • Satisfaction with network performance and reliability has improved to 716 in 2015, an increase of 16 points in 2014.
  • The percentage of customers who purchase premium speed Internet has increased considerably in 2015 to 37 percent from 27 percent in 2014. Additionally, network performance and reliability satisfaction among customers with premium speed Internet is 751 vs. 695 among those without premium speed Internet.
  • Half (50%) of highly satisfied residential Internet customers (overall satisfaction scores of 900 or higher) say they "definitely will not" switch providers in the next 12 months, compared with only 9 percent of dissatisfied customers (scores below 550) who say the same.

Residential Telephone Service Provider Satisfaction Study

  • AT&T ranks highest in telephone customer satisfaction in the North Central and West regions (758 each); Verizon ranks highest in the East (769) and South (773) regions.
  • At the national level, satisfaction with network performance and reliability is 789, up from 754 in 2014.
  • Half (50%) of highly satisfied residential telephone customers (overall satisfaction scores of 900 or higher) say they "definitely will not" switch providers in the next 12 months, compared with only 10 percent of dissatisfied customers (scores below 550) who say the same.

The 2015 U.S. wireline studies are based on responses from 30,947 customers nationwide who evaluated their cable/satellite TV, high-speed Internet and telephone service providers. The studies were fielded in four waves: November 2014, February 2015, April 2015 and July 2015.

                        

Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Scores


J.D. Power.com Power Circle RatingsTM

(Based on a 1,000-point scale)


For Consumers

Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study




East Region                                       

DIRECTV                                           

771

5

DISH Network                                      

757

4

Verizon FiOS                                        

756

4

East Average                                         

721

3

Optimum (Cablevision)                             

707

3

Cox Communications                                

705

3

XFINITY (Comcast)                                     

689

2

Time Warner Cable                                      

686

2

North Central Region                               

AT&T U-verse                                              

750

5

DIRECTV                                                     

750

5

DISH Network                                                

735

4

WOW! (Wide Open West)                                

721

4

North Central Average                                       

710

3

XFINITY (Comcast)                                            

689

2

Charter Communications                                     

688

2

Time Warner Cable                                    

666

2

South Region                                         

Verizon FiOS                                             

777

5

AT&T U-verse                                              

763

4

DISH Network                                               

758

4

DIRECTV                                                       

750

4

South Average                                                 

729

3

Cox Communications                                        

716

3

Bright House Networks                    

713

3

Charter Communications                   

709

2

Time Warner Cable                            

699

2

Suddenlink                                         

690

2

XFINITY (Comcast)                               

682

2

West Region                                        

DISH Network                                         

761

5

DIRECTV                                                 

760

5

AT&T U-verse                                            

756

5

Verizon FiOS                                             

754

5

CenturyLink                                                

729

3

West Average                                              

724

3

Cox Communications                                    

709

3

Charter Communications                                

685

2

XFINITY (Comcast)                                         

682

2

Time Warner Cable                                          

673

2

Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study





East Region                              

Verizon                                     

738

5

Cox Communications                   

703

3

East Average                                

700

3

Optimum (Cablevision)                    

695

3

XFINITY (Comcast)                          

679

2

Time Warner Cable                           

665

2

Note: AT&T and Frontier Communications (formerly AT&T) are included in the study and regional averages but not ranked due to recent acquisition of AT&T wireline services in the East region

North Central Region                

AT&T                                          

726

5

WOW!(Wide Open West)              

697

4

North Central Average                    

687

3

Charter Communications                 

682

3

XFINITY (Comcast)                          

674

3

Time Warner Cable                           

657

2

Frontier Communications                    

635

2

South Region                                

Verizon                                        

749

5

AT&T                                            

732

4

Cox Communications                      

708

3

South Average                                 

705

3

Suddenlink                                       

703

3

Charter Communications                    

701

3

Bright House Networks                        

694

3

Time Warner Cable                               

687

3

CenturyLink                                           

675

2

XFINITY (Comcast)                                  

669

2

Windstream                                             

635

2

West Region                                            

Verizon                                                      

731

5

AT&T                                                          

729

5

Cox Communications                                    

695

3

West Average                                                

689

3

CenturyLink                                                    

686

3

Charter Communications                        

685

3

Time Warner Cable                                 

669

2

XFINITY (Comcast)                                  

664

2

Frontier Communications                          

639

2

Residential Telephone Service Provider Satisfaction Study


East Region                  

Verizon                           

769

5

East Average                    

746

3

Cox Communications         

742

3

Optimum (Cablevision)         

732

3

XFINITY (Comcast)               

711

2

Time Warner Cable                

705

2

Frontier Communications         

684

2

Note: AT&T and Frontier Communications (formerly AT&T) are included in the study and regional averages but not ranked due to recent acquisition of AT&T wireline services in the East region


North Central Region                 

AT&T                                           

758

5

WOW! (Wide Open West)              

747

4

CenturyLink                                    

740

3

North Central Average                       

739

3

Charter Communications                    

720

2

XFINITY (Comcast)                             

706

2

Frontier Communications                     

699

2

Time Warner Cable                               

698

2

Note: Verizon is included in the study and regional averages but not ranked in the North Central region due to insufficient sample


South Region                  

Verizon                              

773

5

AT&T                                  

765

4

South Average                      

752

3

Cox Communications             

750

3

Bright House Networks            

734

2

CenturyLink                             

732

2

Charter Communications            

727

2

Time Warner Cable                     

727

2

Windstream                                

708

2

XFINITY (Comcast)                       

703

2

West Region                                

AT&T                                             

758

5

Verizon                                           

757

5

Cox Communications                        

743

3

West Average                                    

740

3

CenturyLink                                        

729

2

Charter Communications                       

723

2

Time Warner Cable                                

710

2

XFINITY (Comcast)                                 

707

2

Power Circle Ratings Legend
5 – Among the best
4 – Better than most
3 – About average
2 – The rest

Award-Eligible Telecom Providers Included in the Studies

Company Name

CEO Name

Company Address

AT&T, Inc.

Randall Stephenson

Dallas, Texas

Bright House Networks, LLC

Steve Miron

East Syracuse, N.Y.

Cablevision Systems Corporation

James Dolan

Bethpage, N.Y.

CenturyLink, Inc.

Glen Post

Monroe, La.

Charter Communications, Inc.

Thomas Rutledge

Stamford, Conn.

Comcast Corporation

Brian Roberts

Philadelphia, Pa.

Cox Communications, Inc.

Patrick Esser

Atlanta, Ga.

Dish Network Corp.

Charles Ergen

Englewood, Colo.

Frontier Communications Corporation

Daniel McCarthy

Norwalk, Conn.

Suddenlink Communications

Jerald Kent

St. Louis, Mo.

Time Warner Cable Inc.

Robert Marcus

New York, N.Y.

Verizon Communications Inc.

Lowell McAdam

New York, N.Y.

WideOpenWest Networks, LLC

Steven Cochran

Englewood, Colo.

Windstream Communications, LLC

Anthony Thomas

Little Rock, Ark.

Media Relations Contacts
John Tews; Troy, Mich.; 248-680-6218; [email protected]

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SOURCE J.D. Power