television

Could You Cut the Cable or Satellite Cord?

By Mark Evans in Media 12 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Although it’s more of a murmur than a rumble, there appears to be growing attention on cord-cutting. I’m not talking about wood as those of us north of border prepare for another long, cold winter but people who have decided they no longer need cable or satellite service because most, if not all, of their video needs are being met by online services.

Fabrice Taylor had an interesting column in yesterday’s Globe & Mail that talked about his own decision to cut the chord, as well as the fact the number of U.S. cable and satellite subscribers dropped by 216,000 in the second-quarter, the first time it had ever declined.

In the scheme of things 216,000 is a drop in the bucket compared with the 10s of millions of subscribers still coughing up a growing amount of dollars each and every month. But it does signal that consumers now have an option to get their video fix – be it movies, documentaries or television shows. With higher-speed networks and a growing number of devices to watch video, the Web is becoming a more viable and attractive platform.

This is a movement that will likely gain more traction as services such as Hulu, NetFlix and iTunes make it even easier to access online video anywhere, any time on any device, including smartphones.

The big obstacle facing cord-cutting is live sports – something that is available on pay-per-view but not readily available through an online service. If the professional sports leagues come around to offering games on a pay-as-you-go basis, it could dramatically jump-start the cord-cutting trend.

Last weekend, for example, I watched an NFL football game via online service. It wasn’t a legitimate service but, nevertheless, hinted at what was possible. If I could purchase the game of the week (e.g. New England vs. the New York Jets) for let’s say $4.99 from NFL.com, that would completely change how I would consume television.

That said, I do not expect the professional sports leagues in North America to change how they do business in the near future. The television deals from ESPN, NBC, Fox and CBS are too lucrative to consideration alternatives. We’re talking about hundreds of billions of dollars.

So while professional sports may not be part of the cord-cutting movement, everything else is on the table. As more services become available and more people get their heads around the fact they really don’t need to have cable or satellite service, cord-cutting could go from a murmur to a rumble in no time at all.

Have you cut the cord? If so, how do you consume your video these days, and what services do you use?

Is It Really Time for Personalized TV?

By Mark Evans in Media 2 Comments Tags: , , ,

I don’t watch a lot of television – not even those HBO shows that everyone raves about.

That said, I still have cable television because it’s really the only way to watch live sports. If there was a service that let you buy live sports on a pay-as-you-go basis, I probably wouldn’t need cable service.

For all the talk about TV’s new future and the rise of services such as Hulu and Apple TV, the world is still dominated by cable and satellite service providers. As much as people talk about being able to just buy the shows they want by downloading them or streaming them off the Web, there doesn’t appear to be a stampede of consumers yet.

But there are indications that the marketplace is changing. A recent survey Webbush Securities analyst James Dix discovered 7% of 2,500 respondents had stopped using basic cable and 12% had cut their premium or satellite services.

“There is evidence of cord cutting,” Dix told the New York Post

Perhaps the biggest hurdle facing the growth of the pay-as-you-go TV market is live sports. While there is some pay-per-view and sports packages, sports remains the reason why many people still have cable or satellite service. As much as television shows have migrated to the New TV, sports is still pretty much rooted in the Old TV.

It may have to do with the fact the networks are willing to pay billions of dollars in broadcasting rights, or maybe it simply has to do with a new model not being ready for prime time yet. For example, a Hulu for live sports in which you could watch any professionals game for $2.99 or $4.99/shot could be very interesting.

My take is we’re just moving into the New TV era. Hulu is an indication of what may be over the horizon, although it is a hybrid given it’s controlled by traditional broadcasters. Apple TV could be interesting but it’s strong ties to iTunes will be a strength and a weakness, while Google TV is still finding its feet.

For couch potatoes, it could be an interesting landscape with far more choices.

For more, check out David Pogue’s recent column in the New York Times.

Forget About 3D TV, I Want My Apple TV

By Mark Evans in Apple/iPod 3 Comments Tags: , , , ,

How many rabbits can Steve Jobs pulled out of his magical Apple hat?

Since the iPod’s launch in late-2001, Apple has been steadily introducing new and improved products that have transformed it into the world’s most exciting and leading consumer electronics company.

The launch yesterday of Apple TV is another example of Apple’s ability to disrupt well-entrenched markets with something that may not be revolutionary but it’s bound to make an impact based on its design, functionality and, of course, the magical Apple aura.

Designed to stream television shows, videos and movies off the Internet or via a personal computer, the new Apple TV (aka the hockey puck) is simplistic yet it has the potential to be disruptive. At $99 (or C$119), it’s a product lots of people will if only because it’s from Apple, it’s cool and it will easily change how you watch TV, movies and videos. Heck, I’m going to buy one, and I’m someone who has steadfastly resisted buying an iPad because it’s been impossible to justify.

The another interest aspect to Apple 2.0 is how it puts the spotlight on another part of the TV world: 3D. For months, the TV industry has been aggressively trying to convince consumers they need a 3D TV, even though the amount of programming available is minimal right now. At a time when many consumers are upgrading to large-screen plasma or LCD TVs, the TV industry is trying to force us to take another step forward that consumers aren’t prepared to take.

Apple, on the other hand, is appealing to couch potatoes in a different way. Apple’s approach is providing consumers with choice and the ability to easily take advantage of all the content on the Internet. It is appealing to how consumers want to watch what they want, when they want, which is a powerful proposition.

My sense is Apple TV will be a smash-hit with units flying off the shelves because Steve Jobs will convince them it is something they need to have because it will make their lives better and more enjoyable. Whether or not they need one is another question but Apple, in many ways, is a master of getting people to believe there are things they wand, and then there are things (such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad), they need.

Can 3D Television Overcome Multi-Tasking?

By Mark Evans in Media 1 Comment Tags: , , ,

There’s a growing amount of buzz about 3D television, which seems strange given many consumers are still enthusiastically buying large-screen LCD and plasma televisions.

In any event, 3D seems to be attracting a lot of chatter but here’s something not getting a lot of TV: If you watch 3D television, you can’t do anything else.

So, what’s the big deal about not being able to do anything else but watch TV?

Well, when most people watch TV, they’re also doing other things – reading, eating, surfing the Web on a laptop, knitting, exercising, etc. The problem is it will be difficult to do most of these other things when watching 3D television because you have to wearing special glasses that make it difficult to see anything other than the TV.

So even though many of us our couch potatoes, we’re multi-tasking couch potatoes who may be challenged to focus on doing just one thing. Unless 3D improves, the inability to multi-task may be the killer blow to 3D television. At the very least, it may keep 3D to being a niche service for special events such as sports and some movies.

For more thoughts on the challenges facing 3D TV, check out James Brumley in Investopedia.

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