Service providers who see TV Everywhere as just a way to offset the advances of over-the-top video onto their networks are missing the whole picture, a research analyst at The Diffusion Group (TDG) have warned.
"Operators have to date cast TVE in a defensive role; an incentive to keep people from jumping ship to an OTT service," TDG analyst Michael Greeson wrote.
Service providers instead should see "the legitimate revenue potential that TVE holds; revenue that is being left on the table even as monthly fees increase and consumers are presented with alternative (and fully competitive) services," he continued.
A study conducted jointly by iStreamPlanet and TDG concluded that "61 percent of pay TV subscribers are to varying degrees likely to pay an extra $5 per month for a live/live linear TVE service while 50 percent are likely to pay $8 a month," Greeson wrote.
The analyst author said OTT itself is expanding as a threat, moving from now-conventional players like Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) to new competitors such as Intel Media's OTT offering.
Service providers, he said, can't really be faulted for failing to see the potential of a service that, on the surface at least, appears to be another expense in an era when purse strings are being tightened.
Still, he wrote, "free TVE access provides a means of enhancing the value of the core home TV subscription during what is expected to be a long period of above average price increases."
It is also apparent from a study jointly conducted by iStreamPlanet and TDG that consumers are "quite enthusiastic about … and are willing to pay a few extra dollars each month" for a home TV service that's delivered live to connected video devices.
For more:
- TDG released this analysis
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