Cable ranks highest in customer satisfaction in three of four regions in the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Residential Cable/Satellite Study out today (click here for the press release). Cable companies Cox Communications, Bright House Networks and WOW! each took a region. DirecTV took the remaining one. One of the most interesting stats released by J.D. Power is that Cable’s average price is now lower than satellite TV, robbing the satellite companies of a message point they’ve touted aggressively for years. According to J.D. Power, cable customers spend an average of $58 a month, while satellite customers spend $61.

J.D. Power noted that satellite providers maintain a customer satisfaction gap over Cable, although it has narrowed. This is the first year the group has split the cable/satellite study by regions. Last year, WOW! ranked highest overall, ending satellite’s three consecutive years atop the survey. For Cox, the West region honor is the fifth J.D. Power award the company has received in 2006, following highest satisfaction honors in three regions in the telephone customer satisfaction study and highest customer satisfaction among small/midsize business data service providers nationwide.