Strong Sales Underscore High Level Of Consumer Satisfaction With RCA DIRECTV Systems

30-Mar-00

With sales of RCA DIRECTV satellite receiving systems continuing to climb and consumers in more than 20 cities now subscribing to new local channel services, a recent survey of several hundred purchasers of the RCA DIRECTV System shows an extremely high level of satisfaction with the digital satellite product. Ninety-one percent of those surveyed state that the RCA product, manufactured and marketed by THOMSON multimedia (SICOVAM: 18453) (NYSE: TMS), met or exceeded their expectations.Two out of five owners reported the RCA DIRECTV System exceeded expectations (41 percent), and one in five claimed it exceeded expectations a lot (19 percent).""This latest market research is consistent with our first RCA DIRECTV System purchaser surveys done almost six years ago. The satisfaction rating continues to be very strong,"" said Enrique Rodriguez, Senior Vice President of Multimedia Products for Thomson. ""We have continued to set the standards for convenience features, on-screen displays and information programming guides. Our goal has always been to give viewers a product that is functional, enjoyable and exceptionally easy to use. The findings of this latest study confirm that we have succeeded."" Since the introduction of the RCA DIRECTV system in 1994, Thomson has commissioned market research studies to monitor purchaser satisfaction with the product.Easy Use, Picture Quality Are KeyThis latest survey measured owner satisfaction with the various features as well as the programming guides/menus of the RCA DIRECTV system. Picture and sound quality continue to rate highly, with over four in five of all respondents saying that are very satisfied with the product's digital picture quality (87 percent) and CD-quality sound capability (82 percent) and almost two-thirds (64 percent) rating the picture ""excellent"". About two-thirds of the respondents ranked three other features either ""very good"" or ""excellent"": Programming quality, 68 percent; ease of use of program guides/menus, 62 percent; and ease of use of remote control, 62 percent.One of the most popular features of the RCA DIRECTV System is the consumer-friendly on-screen electronic program guide. Eighty percent of the owners stated that they use this feature (85 percent if the household included children) and two-thirds reported that they used this guide ""every time"" or ""most of the time"" they turn on the RCA DIRECTV System.In addition to being asked about their satisfaction level, respondents in the study were also queried about other purchase decision factors.The main reasons for buying the system were: Programming/channels available (39 percent); dissatisfaction with current (cable) system (29 percent), and cost (23 percent), specifically that it was cheaper than cable (18 percent).Variety of programming (65 percent) and programming for everyone in the family (63 percent) were the two most important factors influencing the purchase decision. Sports programming (53 percent) and choice of movies (47 percent) followed.More buyers (65 percent) installed the RCA DIRECTV System themselves or with a friend/relative helping. Among these people, three out of four felt the installation process was ""very"" or ""somewhat"" easy.About one in ten (12 percent) of the purchasers bought additional home entertainment equipment as a result of their RCA DIRECTV System purchase, with VCRs (25 percent), big-screen TVs (19 percent) and DVD players (19 percent) the most frequently mentioned.About THOMSON Multimedia The world's fourth largest producer of consumer electronics with sales of Euro 6.7 billion ($6.4 billion US) in 1999 and 55,000 salaried employees in more than 30 countries, THOMSON multimedia has four principal activities: Displays and Components, Consumer Products, New Media Services, and Patents and Licensing. The group engineers, manufactures, and markets display components and consumer products such as televisions, VCRs, camcorders, digital decoders, DVD-Video players, audio and communications products, as well as professional video equipment. THOMSON multimedia is the parent company of the US-based Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. Visit THOMSON multimedia on the Web at http://www.thomson-multimedia.com/.

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