According to a December 2008 Independent Cable magazine survey the average cable company in America carries only 2 faith channels. In contrast, cable’s two major telco competitors, Verizon and AT&T, carry 12 faith channels. Cable’s major competitive strategy is to use HD and the triple play services to thwart the competition. One area that cable operators appear to have overlooked is the availability of an adequate number of faith channels to help satisfy the faith community. These additional faith channels may be the key to whether cable operators keep or lose their faith customers to the competition. 

One third of all households in the US attend church each week. This enormous group represents too large a demographic to under-serve, and if not served by the incumbent cable operators could migrate to competitive services offering these channels. A 2005 Barna Research study revealed that 29% of broadcast viewers would sign up for cable if all of TBN’s digital channels were available.

A TV Week July 28, 2008 article reported that “cable companies’ market share is expected to fall during the next decade and satellite TV demand is predicted to remain flat, [but] telecommunications companies, whose market share was negligible last year, will account for about 11% of the market by 2017, according to research firm SNL Kagan.”

TBN officials believe that if cable companies offer its faith-based customers a variety of faith channels, such as the unique demographically diverse group of channels that TBN Networks has created, it can help prevent the loss of subscribers switching to its competitors already carrying TBN’s five faith channels. 

The five digital channels of the TBN Networks include: TBN, the top-rated faith channel in the nation; Smile of a Child, featuring cartoons,  character-based, and educational programs for children 2-12; JCTV, packed with music videos and cutting edge programs for young adults 13-29; The Church Channel, featuring multi-denominational church services; and TBN Enlace USA, with faith programs all in Spanish.

TBN Networks have received tremendous interest and awards. Recently the Parents Television Council awarded TBN, JCTV and Smile of a Child their coveted “Seal of Approval”.  All of TBN’s digital channels are free of license fees and should not only help cable operators add or keep their faith-based subscribers but will allow them to offer their customers more channels without raising  monthly subscriber rates.