Comcast and Time Warner Cable are the most hated companies in each of the three "triple play" markets where they operate, according to an American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) report being released Tuesday.

The two cable companies, which are attempting to merge, ranked second-to-last and last in the Internet service market as well as the subscription TV and fixed-line telephone service markets, the ACSI found. Comcast and TWC also fared poorly last year but cemented their places at the bottom in 2014 by dropping significantly in customer satisfaction.

"Time Warner Cable lags behind the entire industry following its second consecutive yearly decline, down seven percent to an all-time low of 56 [on the ACSI's 100-point scale]," the ACSI report said. "The combination of low and downward-trending customer satisfaction for both Comcast and Time Warner Cable is cause for concern amid merger talks between the two companies. The issue at stake is not that the proposed merger will limit competition, as the service territories of the two companies do not overlap. Instead, it is the question of whether a combination of two pay-TV providers with such poor records could possibly create a better customer experience, especially given the volume of evidence from ACSI data suggesting that mergers in service industries tend to damage satisfaction—at least in the short term."

Moreover, they're the worst-rated companies in the most hated industries. The ACSI averages the results of its customer interviews to create indexes for more than 40 industries. Subscription TV service and Internet service ranked last, and fixed telephone service was in the bottom 10 along with health insurance:

"Customer satisfaction with subscription television service falls 4.4 percent to an ACSI score of 65 after peaking at 68 a year ago," the ACSI report said. "The sharp decline positions subscription TV among the least satisfying industries measured in the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Only Internet service, which is provided by many of the same companies, scores lower at 63. Customer satisfaction with pay TV service pales in comparison with other types of household services such as energy utilities (ACSI score of 76) and fixed-line telephone service (73), which customers rate as more reliable and a better value."

Verizon FiOS beat out AT&T U-verse and all the cable companies in both the Internet service provider and fixed-line telephone service rankings. DirecTV and AT&T's U-verse service were the best rated subscription TV products ahead of Verizon, DISH, and all the cable companies.

This isn't the first time Comcast has been judged poorly in surveys. "We are deeply disappointed as to where we are," Comcast Executive VP David Cohen told the Senate Judiciary Committee last month during a hearing on the Time Warner Cable merger. Cohen said Comcast has "spent billions of dollars over the last five years improving our networks," along with improving call center employee training and increasing reliability in getting to customer homes within one- and two-hour appointment windows.

Besides the three triple play services, the ACSI also measured cell phone makers and wireless carriers. Samsung topped Apple at the top of the cellphone maker list, followed by Google's Motorola Mobility, Nokia, HTC, BlackBerry, and LG. Verizon Wireless topped the carrier list, followed by T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T.

The ACSI also measured computer software satisfaction, but Microsoft was the only company big enough to make the list on its own.

Regarding methodology, "The 2014 ACSI report on cellular telephones, computer software, fixed-line telephone service, Internet service providers, subscription TV service, and wireless telephone service is based on interviews with 12,248 customers of these six industries, chosen at random and contacted via telephone and e-mail between January 13 and March 11, 2014," the report said. "Customers are asked to evaluate their recent purchase and consumption experiences with the products or services of the largest companies by market share within each of the measured industries, plus an aggregate of all other smaller brands not measured individually by name in the ACSI."

The report will be on the ACSI's website after it's released. Check out these charts from the report for the full results: