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Despite the down economy, one thing's up. Customer satisfaction with TV providers has improved markedly for all types. Telcos lead the list but satisfaction is also up for satellite and cable providers.

A study by J.D. Power and Associates found that AT&T U-verse ranked highest in the west and south for the second consecutive year. Verizon FiOS did similarly well in the east, while WOW! scored highest in the north central part of the nation.

However, satellite and cable providers showed some improvement as well. Seventy-eight percent of satellite customers say they definitely or probably would recommend their provider to others, a six percent increase from last year. Among cable subscribers, the number was 60 percent, a five percent improvement. Reduced outages and shorter customer-support holding times are responsible for the increased customer satisfaction.

Overall, customer satisfaction with TV providers averaged 632 on a 1000-point scale, up from 609 in 2008.

However, satisfaction and loyalty are two different things. Yes, JD Power also measures loyalty, and it's down to 40 percent for satellite customers, a four percent drop, and down to 25 percent for cable customers, a two percent drop.

"Given the current state of the economy, customers generally want to keep their options open, even if they are satisfied with their current provider. To increase loyalty, providers should continue to enhance the service improvements offered this year, and to remain competitive from a cost and offerings perspective," said the study.

The economic doldrums are also prompting subscribers to buy fewer services. Those who get premium cable channels are down to 29 percent, a three percent decrease. And those who get video on demand are now at 33 percent, a two percent decrease, while those who get pay per view are down to 16 percent, a two percent decrease.

However, DVR use saw a notable jump, rising a whopping 22 percent to its current 40 percent level.

See press release.