Excerpts taken from a Bernstein Research report that highlight the tremendous value cable’s video service provides to consumers. As the introduction states:

For months, we have repeatedly been asked about historical precedents for Pay TV performance during recessions. In a report yesterday, we examined recent price actions in the video market, both with respect to promotions and also list prices. This relates to cross-elasticity, or the willingness to switch providers to save money. In today's report, we examine what we can learn about absolute price elasticity for Pay TV, that is, consumer’s willingness to pay for Pay TV services at all, based on an analysis of history.

The reports notes that while history provides little direct insight into how Pay TV behaves during recessions, the scant evidence that does exist supports the view that cable is a strong defensive.