You would think that the programmers and the cable companies should stop fighting each other and build a mutually advantageous VOD platform for everyone. That thought got another boost today.

The results of a Horowitz Associates study indicates that if programmers build on-demand programs, consumers will come. And if programmers don't create on-demand viewing options, they risk losing viewing share to those that do.

An earlier joint study by Horowitz and Points North Group indicated consumers prefer free, ad-supported on-demand TV programs versus paying $1.99 for programs by a three-to-one margin.

The latest Horowitz study also reports that more than half of the cable customers with free VOD use the service on a weekly basis, with two in 10 using it daily. Consumers with movies on demand watch an average of 1.5 movies a month and more than one-quarter watch two or more in the average month. Additionally, more than three-quarters of digital cable households have VOD service, and VOD remains a key driver to customer satisfaction.

Yet despite the link between VOD and cable satisfaction, the study found that when consumers were asked, unaided, what the biggest differences are between cable and satellite, virtually none mentioned VOD services.

Because of their two-way digital infrastructure, cable companies can offer thousands of hours of VOD programming while satellite companies remain fairly limited in the amount of on-demand hours they can push to their customers' set top boxes.