Theft of cable’s basic video service is down more than 50 percent in four years, largely because cable is increasingly moving to digital and operators have been cracking down on signal bandits. According to a study released by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association on Monday, the rate of theft as a percentage of homes passed was 4.65 percent in 2004, down from 11.5 percent in 2000.

Theft of premium services was 2.15 percent in 2004, down from 9.5 percent in 2000. Theft of cable’s newer technology offerings–including digital cable and high-speed Internet access–were under one percent, “indicating that advanced services are more secure than predecessor analog services,” NCTA said.

The NCTA study also said that theft cost the cable industry $4.76 billion a year in 2004, more than 8 percent of the industry’s $57.6 billion annual gross revenues in the year. In 2000, according to NCTA, theft cost cable $6 billion in unrealized revenue.