[opendtv] Re: FW: Intel Will Lead Us to à la Carte Pay TV

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:32:03 -0500

At 7:29 PM -0500 2/23/13, Albert Manfredi wrote:

Craig Birkmaier wrote:



 > 2. Would you expect the congloms to make less than they are making today

 with any new Internet service?
Even if they provide the content only ad-supported, they could make way more than they do now. They could have a global audience, subject only to the restrictions they place upon themselves **or** the restrictions they allow the MVPDs to place on them. 

Are you serious?
How are they going to replace the $26 billion in subscriber fees - these networks are already overstuffed with ads. ANd they already have a global audience via licensing of this content.
The MVPDs do not restrict the congloms; you've got it exactly backwards. They PAY the congloms for the content, and handle the billing and customer service. They could walk away from the MVPDs tomorrow, but why would they?
The only way they can make more money is if consumers SPEND more money on entertainment. Apple and Amazon provide a nice way to enjoy conglom content WITHOUT ads, but the number of viewers willing to pay for this privilege is small.
Plus, via Internet subscription sites like Netflix, the congloms can continue to rake in their dual revenue streams.
I don't understand. Netflix is no different than any International broadcast outlet or cable network outside the U.S. - They license content from the congloms after its value has been exhausted for first run in the U.S.
Netflix does not have ads, Hulu Plus still does. So the portal run by the networks does produce dual revenue streams.
But licensing has always been an import part of the TV content food chain, gradually producing less revenue as the content gets stale and more widely distributed. Subscriber fees AND Ads is not uniquely American, but it certainly started here and is far more onerous here.
So in short, I **do not** buy any of this "Rome wasn't built in a day" stuff. The congloms have changed the way they operate a whole lot already, *and* all the tools are in place now for them to go a lot further. The congloms will undoubtedly keep developing their distribution solutions, and I see no added value with Procter & Gamble jumping in as middleman.
The congloms are "controlling" this transition, rather than being run over by it. Such is the benefit of operating as the fourth branch of government in the U.S. 

Regards
Craig


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