Cable gains on DBS. (News).

Cable companies are fighting back on the digital battlefront, reducing the price lead held by digital broadcast satellite providers, a study found.

Cable operators are adding channels to their digital offering at such a rapid rate that their average price per channel is dropping sharply, diving below the cost per channel available via DBS, according to a new report published by The Carmel Group.

The average cost of a basic cable channel fell to 37 cents from 47 cents last year, a reduction of about 20%, while the price for DBS channels, however, went up 3% to 47 cents.

Jimmy Schaeffler, a television subscription analyst at Carmel, says findings …