Cable TV: lots of viewers, little profit. (Statistics).While almost half of Japanese households are now hooked up with cable television services, only two-thirds of cable broadcasters are making money in Japan. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Pasts and Telecommunications, 21.25 million households in Japan -- about 45 percent of all Japanese households -- subscribed to cable TV services in fiscal 2001, up 13.5 percent from the previous year. More people subscribed to cable TV services provided by operators that also served as broadcasters, but subscriptions to redistribution-only services inched down. In the meanwhile, the number of cable TV operators increased 2.6 percent to reach 44,619. Out of these operators, only 669 were broadcasters, while the rest simply redistribute re·dis·trib·ute tr.v. re·dis·trib·ut·ed, re·dis·trib·ut·ing, re·dis·trib·utes To distribute again in a different way; reallocate. other broadcasters' programs. In Japan, many of these cable TV broadcasters are public or semi-public corporations. Out of the 669 cable broadcasters, 314 were private corporations whose main business was cable TV. Despite the fact that the government offers preferential taxes or lower interest rates for bank loans to help these private cable broadcasters grow, they are still struggling to become financially sound. During fiscal 2001, 68.8 percent of the private broadcasters became profitable, up slightly from 63.4 percent from a year earlier. During the same year, private broadcasters that had been profitable for at least two consecutive years amounted to only 28.3 percent of the total. The average cable broadcaster posted [yen]3 billion operating losses operating loss The excess of operating expenses over revenue. As with operating income, operating losses exclude revenues and expenses from operations that are not considered a regular part of the business. Also called deficit. Compare operating income. for its main cable TV business during the same fiscal year. Overall, the average broadcaster posted operating profits Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. of [yen]2.2 billion, but it also had [yen]15.3 billion in losses on its financial statement. Cable TV operators are trying to expand their businesses into the larger broadband arena in order to increase profit. Two hundred and seventy cable TV operators were offering fast Internet services at the end of the fiscal year, with the number of subscribers reaching 1.7 million. But the growth of cable Internet Internet access via the cable companies. There are two kinds of service. One uses a cable modem to connect to a computer, and the other uses an enhanced cable box that provides Internet access directly at the TV. services does not compare with that of DSL DSL in full Digital Subscriber Line Broadband digital communications connection that operates over standard copper telephone wires. It requires a DSL modem, which splits transmissions into two frequency bands: the lower frequencies for voice (ordinary . Just a little more than a year ago, Internet cable See cable Internet. connections were more popular than DSL connections. Because of a cutthroat cut·throat n. 1. A murderer, especially one who cuts throats. 2. An unprincipled, ruthless person. 3. A cutthroat trout. adj. 1. Cruel; murderous. 2. war initiated by Masayoshi Son Masayoshi Son (Japanese: 孫正義, Son Masayoshi; born August 111957 in Tosu, Saga Prefecture, Japan) is a Korean-Japanese and the founder and current chief executive officer of Softbank Capital, and the chief executive officer of SoftBank Mobile (the , Softbank's president, DSL gained momentum last year to spread all over Japan. Cable connections to the Net tend to be more expensive than DSL now. Meanwhile, streamlining of the cable industry continues. Many small operators have merged into larger multiple system operators (MSOs), in which many community-based operators join farces under one holding company. One of the largest MSOs, Jupiter Telecom, for example, has 19 group companies under a holding company. The company still hasn't been able to break even. Source: The Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications [GRAPH OMITTED] [GRAPH OMITTED] [GRAPH OMITTED] [GRAPH OMITTED] The Number of Cable TV Operators (April 2002) Broadcasters 1.47% Total 45,288 Note: Table made from pie chart |
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