Consumer Satisfaction Rising For Movies, But Not Other Media: Study

Overall scores for information industries are as dismal as ever: The sector gets the second-to-worst ranking, just ahead of government services, from the American Customer Satisfaction Index which measures consumer attitudes and evaluates them as an economic indicator. Still, motion pictures was the only information industry whose scores improved in Q1 according to a report out today. ACSI found that respondents gave motion pictures a 76 score on a 100-point scale, up from 73 in early 2011. That's one of the highest scores for the industry since ACSI began its measurements in 1995. Movies started out that year with a 77, their highest score to date, and have gone as low as 68 in 2000. The latest measurement puts motion pictures ahead of broadcast and cable TV news programs: They had the biggest year-over-year decline among information companies with a score of 74, down from last year's 77. Newspapers also retreated one point to 64. ACSI made its most detailed measurements in subscription TV, where providers overall maintained the 66 rating that they've had since 2010. Within the group, Verizon's FiOS expanded its lead with 74 (up from 72) followed by Dish Network (69, up from 67), AT&T U-verse (68, flat), DirecTV (68, down from 69), Cox Communications (63, down from 67), Time Warner Cable (63, up from 59), Comcast (61, up from 59), and Charter Communications (59, flat). Although wireless phones are considered part of a different industry ' manufacturing and durable goods ' ACSI says that consumers gave Apple's iPhone an 83, 10 points higher than the industry average. And fixed line phone providers were tied with wireless at 70, the first time consumers didn't give the advantage to wired phones.