The number of cable TV subscriptions will be lower in 2002 than the year before, ending nine straight years of growth, the Federal Communications Commission predicted in a recent report.
A worsening economic climate and lower consumer spending contributed to what "may be the first year in which the industry as a whole has had a net loss of subscribers," the FCC said in its "Ninth Annual Report on Video Competition."

A percentage of customers leaving cable companies are turning to satellite TV providers, such as DirecTV, which grew at a "significantly higher (rate) than cable subscriber growth," the FCC said. The number of people subscribing to satellite TV companies increased from 19.3 million to 21.1 million, a 9 percent jump, during the first half of 2002, the report showed.

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