[opendtv] Re: TV Programmers Put Subscriber Caps on Skinny Bundles | Media - Advertising Age

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2015 10:59:55 -0400

On Apr 10, 2015, at 7:43 PM, Manfredi, Albert E <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:


OTA broadcasters only manage to collude when they deliver over the
monopolistic MVPD nets.

No. They were the gatekeepers of everything we watched on the magic box that
entered our living rooms in the '50s. The only other option was going to a
theater. If you wanted to get your content to the American public you had to
sell it to ABC, NBC, or CBS, give it to PBS, or cut deals with the handful of
independent stations in larger markets.

You heard what Les Moonves said, right? "I don't want to be beholden to
anyone." With Internet distribution, he's not beholden to anyone.

Yup. Now all he has to do is convince the cord cutters that his service is
worth $5.99/month.

Moonves didn't need to come to any agreement with ABC, when he set up CBS All
Access. And ESPN did not need to get agreements from CBS and NBC, when they
went off to Sling TV. With Internet distribution, collusion is not
beneficial. Because your competition can do an end run. This was NOT possible
with legacy MVPD walled gardens.

The Internet is not preventing collusion - it "may" be allowing the oligopolies
to loosen their grip a bit, but the fact remains that these new services -
other than CBS All Access - are still bundles from multiple content owners.
sling is missing many important channels; Sony Vue is missing ESPN and Disney
content. The reported Apple bundle may not have NBC Comcast content.

And any of this was possible with the legacy MVPD walled gardens. The fact that
individual channels were pulled in subscriber fee disputes proves this. And we
are starting to see some MVPDs drop channels that few people watch.

It is the ability to access the content you want where the gatekeeping
occurs,

No, Craig. I'm talking about *the* gatekeeper for *all* your TV content. If
you have 100 different authenticated sites available to you, that's nothing
similar to *the* gatekeeper you dealing with now.

Correct, I now need to pay 100 bills or give my credit card info to 100
different companies. And the total cost will be much greater than the bundle I
am paying for now. If we use CBS All Access as a point of reference, and assume
that I really only want 20 channels, that still $5.99 X 20 = $119.80/mo versus
the ~$70/mo I pay now.

Want to "Watch House of Cards?" There is only one OTT service that
offers it as part of their subscription entertainment bundle.

And if you want to read Hunt for Red October, you have to buy that book. No
other book contains that story. But I can buy zillions of other books,
without buying Hunt for Red October. So you can't call that one book a
gatekeeper.

How absurd.

Yes, we could pay for every episode of every program we watch. I would actually
like the idea, if the price was fair. A buck for a movie or a live sporting
event. A few dollars for an entire season of a hit TV show. But that's not the
way the system works. The system uses exclusive high value content to sell
subscriptions that include a bunch of lesser content, most of which we do not
watch.

Want to watch ESPN? You will need to subscribe to a service that
offers a bundle of twenty or more channels.

You're twisting and turning, Craig. Not long ago, to watch ESPN, you had only
one choice: your monopolistic MVPD "the bundle." Now, you can get ESPN from a
low cost OTT site too, without being forced to pay for many other channels
you don't want.

It's still a MVPD bundle that cost $20/mo. But it does not provide access to
many other channels I watch, and as these channels are added I would need to
buy add on bundles.

This is an improvement for some people, but only incremental. I do agree it is
a step in the right direction.

This is called competition, Craig. Over MVPD walled gardens, you had no
choice but to pay for a bunch of other stuff. With Internet distribution, you
have a choice.

Yup. I can buy Sling, HBO Now, Netflix and...

The fact is that Amazon had a virtual monopoly on e-books,

Amazon is not my only portal to get to the Internet, and I have no trouble
going to other online booksellers. Maybe you need a refresher course in
browsing the web,

Yup, you can buy books from Apple now...

:-)

Regards
Craig



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