[opendtv] Re: Differing interpretations of the same data

From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 08:44:31 -0500
> On Nov 18, 2014, at 7:07 PM, Manfredi, Albert E 
> <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> No one is saying that any of these "outside of the MVPD bundles" offerings 
> would eliminate the continued use of walled-in bundles, as the transition 
> progresses.
> 
> You have listed three supposed "objections" that have nothing to do with the 
> topic at hand. VOD has nothing to do with any of this. It is all about making 
> content available outside of the walled-in network environment of years past. 
> Technology did not allow this previously, technology now does allow this, and 
> people have been demanding it.

VOD has everything to do with it Bert. The old "streaming HBO" model is 
obsolete. They, along with Showtime, Starz, et al have no choice but to move to 
a VOD business model like Netflix. Where the content comes from is irrelevant - 
it is meeting the customers expectations that matters. 

You are making a big deal about this being outside a walled in network 
environment. Any paid service is inside a wall. And for most, they will still 
need a broadband subscription from a MVPD to use the new OTT service. Just 
moving the walls around...
> 
> Heh heh. I get a kick out of Craig trying to weasel out of his misstatements. 
> So, it is indeed a new bundle and it is indeed to keep people from cutting 
> the cord, making cable offerings more competitive against Netflix, Hulu, et. 
> al. The video I posted a link for yesterday was from 2013, the article from 
> the Christian Science Monitor ditto, all new enough for this purpose.

No weaseling here, just facts. All Comcast did was repackage existing services 
into yet another bundle. Business as usual.

>> The extended basic bundle is not going away - just the opposite,
>> it is growing,
> 
> Show me where subscriptions to this "the bundle," in terms of percent of 
> households, is increasing. "The bundle" will last as long as people like you 
> subscribe to it, declining over time. The fact that ESPN has to pay huge 
> increases to obtain the rights to the major league games, next year, will 
> only accelerate the exodus.

I did not say it is growing in terms of the number of subscribers. I said that 
the extended basic bundle is growing in terms of exclusive content that is no 
longer available free, and that the services offered to subscribers are 
growing, which my enhance the perceived value to subscribers.

The exodus is overstated. Tired of arguing with you about this. The extendd 
basic bundle would still be viable if only 70% of homes subscribe to it. Let me 
know when we start to approach that number Bert, and stop the noise until that 
happens.

>> The more important question is whether the economy will ever
>> recover,
> 
> I haven't seen anyone claiming that this demand for content outside the walls 
> was only caused by the economy. On the contrary, it is usually attributed to 
> changing viewing habits, and a resistance of the younger set from getting 
> hooked on MVPD packages, and the fact that MVPD prices are rising so much 
> faster than incomes. The content owners seem to have grasped that message too.

Irrelevant. The economy is causing some people to drop things they cannot 
afford. 

Yes some viewing habits are changing as we have discussed, and all TV services 
are evolving to reflect this. 

If the content owners have grasped this Bert, why are CBS and Turner getting 
ready to pull their channels from Dish in yet another retrans battle? Why do 
numerous analysts say that broadcast retrans fees will more than double in the 
next four years? 

>> The article you posted stated that people were cutting premium
>> tiers like HBO, not the extended basic tier.
> 
> Nope. Here it is:
> 
> http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/fool/article/Is-Cord-Shaving-More-Destructive-to-Comcast-and-5826774.php
> 
> I'll excerpt the part that you glossed over:
> 
> "Leading the pack among channels with the largest subscribers drops are ESPN 
> and TNT."

I read it again. The article reports that ESPN and TNT have lost 3% of the 
subscribers they had in 2010. That still places them in the mid 80% range. One 
would expect cord shaving to have a larger impact on the extended basic tier, 
as nearly 90% of homes subscribed to it in 2010, while less than 30% subscribed 
to HBO, and even fewer subscribed to other premium tiers.

 The article also is going out of its way to focus on TNT and ESPN. They ARE 
NOT the channels with the biggest subscriber loss - they are both part of the 
extended basic bundle which contains 40 or more channels ALL OF WHICH lost the 
same number of subscribers. You cannot cut ESPN or TNT on an ala carte basis - 
you can cut HBO as it is a tier unto itself.


Regards
Craig 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:

- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at 
FreeLists.org 

- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word 
unsubscribe in the subject line.
References:
- [opendtv] Re: Differing interpretations of the same data
  - From: Manfredi, Albert E
[opendtv] Re: Differing interpretations of the same data

Other related posts:
