In the United States about 89% of all households are distant. There are numerous areas in every state in the country where cable will not provide infrastructure, because is not populated and hence not lucrative. But this is not the problem with satellite TV. It is omnipotent. What is required is a clear view to the southern sky and you are all set. All famous cable and satellite TV communications offer local television programming through affiliate feeds from ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and PBS. Currently Dish Network offer local channels to all but 29-local markets, at an average of 94% of the country, while DirecTV offer locals to all but 58-local markets, which make up 89% of U.S. households.

There is a false notion about satellite TV being incompetent. Independent researches such as JD Power and others have compiled data showing the average downtime for satellite TV as compared to cable TV is approximately 9-12 minutes per year. A cable TV for a moment, your home is connected to a line from usually a telephone pole along with a grid at a specific distance. During natural hazards in the Gulf States it is believed that dish TV were online much before cable customers. A quick adjustment or repair to the satellite dish and its back on its track.

When it comes to picture quality the deal is with the satellite providers. Cable has been ramped up to all digital from analog by the feds and the unavailability of digital output due to bandwidth limitations. Satellite TV remains unobstructed and unfiltered all-digital signal, as it always has been. Cost is another hysterical issue for today's consumers and once again satellite providers give more value – it's approximately $0.40 per channel compared to cable's $1.02 per channel. Cable's monthly's sometimes come out lower, because they offer fewer channels in their packages. Moreover cable channels offer on demand which have been a catchy line up for the satellite TV as well, Their versions of on-demand require HD-DVR's and high-speed Ethernet connections and the content is downloaded through your broadband connection. After a thorough examination of "on-demand" it would eventually seem better to get yourself a DVR pay the lower rate for more channels through satellite and record everything rather than going through the entire procedure of cable transaction.

Cable companies win hands down with customers wanting to get bundle deals on one bill through one company. If you are not someone who minds having service through different companies, you can save some money, getting the values that satellite TV provider’s offer and then adding a high-speed DSL and phone service.

So the stacks seem to be favoring the satellite television more than ordinary cable television. No matter what the issue is one should make a detailed decision after going through sufficient information. Satellite TV favors in terms of quality, reliability, service and value. The choice seems clear unless you are addicted to those local cable access channels; you know the one's that show the school lunch menu and which will just talk about dish entertainment.