The Diffusion Group says telephone companies hold a slim lead over cable when it comes to consumer preferences for buying bundled voice, data and video services, and with some price advantages, could be a disruptive force in the video entertainment world.

The conclusion is based on an April 2006 survey of 1500 U.S. pay-TV homes which shoed one-third or 33% of those subscribers would prefer to receive their triple play services from their local telephone company, while 29% would prefer the cable company and 30% had no preference.

“There are sufficient numbers of ambivalent or dissatisfied cable and DBS subscribers that a competitive telco triple-play offering even slight cost advantages could be disruptive to the market balance,” said Dale Gilliam III, an analyst with The Diffusion Group, in a prepared statement. “This is good news to telcos looking to offer their own video services and triple-play packages.”

The fact that 30% of those surveyed had no preference is an indication that there is no strong consumer loyalty to current pay-TV subscribers, added Michael Greeson, CEO of The Diffusion Group and co-author of the report, titled “Receptivity to TelcoTV among PayTV Subscribers – Primary Research and Analysis.”

Greeson believes this reflects the fact that competitive satellite TV providers have already shaken the customer loyalty of cable companies.