New over-the-top players are clambering aboard the online video cruise ship with increasing frequency. Where does Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) fit in the online video hierarchy? Who does CBS All Access compete with? Industry players and analysts know the answers, but for consumers and a few enterprises looking to get into the space, the number of different services is a bit overwhelming.
In my latest feature, I sort through the crowd of OTT video providers. "Where Netflix, YouTube and HBO Now fit in the OTT industry" gives a quick snapshot of the top players in specific sub-segments of the online video industry, such as SVOD (subscription video on demand), ad-supported OTT, TVOD (transaction video on demand) and more.
What's interesting about the various business models in use among OTT providers isn't so much that one may be more successful than another. It's that none of these models may be really enticing the consumer.
Netflix, for example, has surpassed 50 million subscribers worldwide. Revenue-wise, that's great for the SVOD provider. But are consumers completely happy with the service? Yes, they get an all-you-can-binge smorgasbord of content, but much of it isn't fresh--despite Netflix's efforts with original content and exclusive licensing deals.
Networks, like HBO and CBS, are bypassing traditional distribution routes like cable TV to launch their own OTT services, going a la carte without the help of pay TV. But now subscribers must pay two separate monthly fees if they want both networks online.
As one commenter on our site recently put it, news reports (and perhaps the entire industry) seem to miss the mark when it comes to the audience. "People don't care about getting the 10 channels, they only care about getting the 15 shows they watch."
That may bear out in one statistic we cite in the feature: Only 25.2 percent of pay-TV subscribers use their provider's TV Everywhere service.
While this feature doesn't provide a clear answer to the audience problem, it hopefully clears up where different services fit in the OTT video landscape. Check out the Special Report here.