SAN JOSE, CA – Video quality monitoring continues to be central to cable operators who were pioneers in video, yet they don’t feel they currently have the right tools implemented to accurately measure video quality from the customers’ perspective, according to a recent study released Monday.
Cable operators also indicated that service quality problems are one of the main reasons for customer support calls, resulting in a significant reason for customer churn, states the 2007 Cable Operator Video Quality Study, conducted by Multimedia Research Group, Inc. for Symmetricom Inc., which provides video quality monitoring services.
Specifically, the study found that 68% said that cost is the biggest reason for customer churn, while service quality problems were next at 40%.
The study also revealed that 90.4% reported end-user video quality monitoring as either “critical,” “very important,” or “important” to their video initiatives. As well, 61.9% said they learn of video quality problems via customer phone calls, 31% said they use network monitoring tools to discover quality problems and 80% said that service quality problems are the reasons for high support calls.
Some 40% pinpointed video-on-demand as the service causing the most quality problems today, while 51.6% said HDTV is expected to produce the most quality problems in a year’s time.
“Although cable operators are pioneers in the video business, VOD and HD services are causing new video quality problems, which need to be addressed, preferably before the customer even knows they exist,” added David Cox, Symmetricom’s EVP GM of the Quality of Experience Assurance Division. “With competitive pressures increasing, cable operators need a comprehensive video monitoring solution to ensure they meet customer expectations, or face possible increases in churn and operational costs.”
The survey of executives (VP, director, manager) from operations groups in top tier U.S. MSOs conducted in December 2007 received responses from a total of nine MSOs, all within the top 20 MSOs in the U.S. It was conducted using a written survey questionnaire, and phone interviews.
A similar independent study released in February, the 2007 IPTV Video Quality Study, assessed telecommunications service providers’ requirements for IPTV test, measurement and monitoring solutions with somewhat parallel results.
