When I switched my home television service from DirecTV to Comcast last summer, the slick sales guy on the other end of the line promised me that I would be receiving an identical channel lineup to the one I was currently receiving. “Apples to apples,” he promised. “Only cheaper.” What’s not to like?
You’d think that I, someone who gets paid to research and write about digital television, would have done more due diligence on his own account.
I didn’t.
So, when it became apparent that two “must have” channels for me (NatGeo and BBC America) were not in my Comcast tier, I called again to inquire. Seems that to get those, I would have pay an additional $15 a month to buy up to the next highest tier, one filled with numerous channels of no use or interest to me. Suddenly the calculus changed. This was no longer a good deal.
This time, it’s not coming from the FCC
Recent movements suggest that change may be afoot.
No sooner had Comcast announced the launch of its OTT-mitigating Fancast Xfinity TV service than rumors started circulating about Apple’s talks with CBS and ABC. Seems the folks in Cupertino are mulling a subscription-based video service, obviating the need for iPhone/iPod users to depend solely on the Apple iTunes service for downloads.
If the Apple service is successful at elegantly bridging the ‘’screen gap,” and delivering compelling online content to the tv screen, it could fundamentally alter the way MSOs sell content. The much maligned “bundled” system currently in place, whereby consumers are required to purchase content in blocks of channels–rather than individually–could finally be on the chopping block. And that’s good news.
What is interesting, though, is that the catalyst for this change will be the market—not a government mandate as previously feared.
A la carte used to be somewhat of a cause célèbre in the television world, and one that the FCC has been wrestling for years. It was only the more recent emergence of “net neutrality” that has stolen the spotlight from the issue.
Former FCC Commissioner Powell’s administration commissioned a 2004 report finding that, under an mandated a la carte scheme, customers would end up paying more. That report has since been largely discredited and found to be riddled with misinformation and half-baked analysis. Successor Kevin Martin embraced “cable choice,” though apparently more for the way it allows parents to monitor and block channels, than for household consumer budgetary reasons. One analyst firm rather dramatically predicted ‘economic ruin’ if the FCC went ahead with its plan.
Who moved my talking points?
Government-mandated a la carte is bad for cable consumers, who would wind up paying higher prices to receive the same level of service and fewer channels than they receive today.”-NCTA Issue Brief, January 2009
The National Cable Television Association (NCTA ) talking points were crafted to respond to a possible “government takeover” of television. In the context of a market driven change, the memo reads somewhat differently. Most of the arguments fly out the window, and the market will call the cable industry’s bluff on the supposed technological barriers to offering personalized programming.
As usual, the problem does not lie in the technology, but rather in the business model
The very nature of cable advertising is in flux, brought upon largely by digital television. The 30-year old model in place today, whereby flagship channels lead certain tiers and support fledgling new ones, could be facing some changes. While the NCTA estimates that half of cable companies’ revenues come from national ad sales, this is certainly shifting. Intelligent two-way networks will herald in addressable advertising—the next step in demographic targeting.
Indeed, vendors I spoke with only months ago alluded to some “user identification” scenarios that could pinpoint actual viewers within a household, based on their “jitter signature.” Seems that we all shake and tremble in our own unique ways, and it is possible to use these signatures like fingerprints, and serve up completely targeted advertising.
To be sure, , vendors will need to overcome the “creep out” factor first, but the general idea is the same. Linear advertising as we know it is going the way of the dodo, and the MSO’s ‘old math’ will need to change.
It’s not about choice…it’s about the illusion of choice
Our research shows time and time again that consumers are tired are feeling that they are being screwed by their pay television providers. The nickel and diming in all aspects of consumers’ lives has grown out of control. Our latest survey work (to be published in Q1) found that only about 20% of pay tv customers felt that the ““value for money” they were getting from their pay television operator exceeded expectations.
Part of the issue is consumers’ feeling that they have no control, that they are somehow being taken advantage of..
Choice—or more importantly, the illusion of choice—is an extremely powerful tool. Think of the immensely popular Build a Bear Workshop franchise, whose stores dot shopping malls across the world. BABW allows customers to design and personalize their very own stuffed creatures by visiting eight “stuffed animal-making stations,” where they can choose (and buy) everything from stuffing to clothing. The concept has been a huge hit, and the company is now a $300 million/year concern, with over 400 stores worldwide.
What is the secret to the company’s success? Certainly not selling adorable plush animals; anyone can do that. Rather, BABW has perfected the illusion of choice and flexibility. All customer start at the same default position: buying a bear. The trick is, they end up paying more for the additional features relevant to them.
How about “Build a Bundle?”
What prevents MSOs from employing a similar strategy—allowing customers to design their own bundled offerings? All would start at the same default position, the $XX/month basic tier. The real money comes in the add-ons. Critics say this is not how advertising works in the cable industry. Guess what? It’s about to change.
My (still untested) hypothesis is that, if customers were given the choice to “personalize” a television bundle, ARPUs would actually increase–or at least stay the same. Allowing them to configure a package conveys the illusion of choice and control, and makes customers think they are in the driver’s seat.
Sounds like a great project-opportunity…phone lines are open if someone out there wants us to test the concept.
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