“Even as cable/satellite TV carriers like Comcast and DirecTV squabble over dollars and cents with broadcast and cable networks like NBC and Viacom, the very structure of their decades-old business model is under attack from new Internet technologies and services, as well as new government regulations,” reports ReadWriteWeb.
“At stake is the future of how people watch and pay for television and video — and who controls the experience,” notes the article.
The dominance of cable and satellite TV providers is being chipped away by Internet video services like YouTube, streaming Internet TV boxes such as Roku and Boxee, online media distribution venues including Netflix and Hulu, smart TVs and related over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
“The other half of the squeeze on the cable TV industry comes from the ossified business practices of the industry itself,” suggests the article. “Cliffhanger battles for carriage rights that lead content creators to pull their programming from cable and satellite systems if they can’t get a deal they like is shooting the industry in the foot.”
Frustrated consumers (and some lawmakers) are pushing for change to the current bundling model, for example. “Programmers like Viacom typically won’t allow anyone to buy their channels individually, but we hope to change that,” said DirecTV recently.
Some analysts suggest the impending changes do not signal a death toll for cable TV, but rather a transition where mobile devices will be used in conjunction with TVs. We should expect the growth of second screen apps to be a significant influence in this space (and may even help save cable).
“Cable TV’s ratings may fall as OTT becomes more popular, but don’t cancel cable’s season just because the plot is getting a major rewrite,” comments ReadWriteWeb.
No Comments Yet
You can be the first to comment!
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.