Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

Are the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime now the biggest challenge to the traditional pay TV providers like VM , Sky and BT ?

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

In the movies and premier TV series market they will be offering stiff competiton, but sports will still command strong loyalty towards traditional PayTV.

Also, you must remember that all 3 pay TV suppliers you mention offer triple/quad play deals, meaning that they will still be paid for internet access in many cases.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

l think there is a place for them all in the marketplace so don't really see them as a huge threat personally.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

I agree that they are not a threat to the likes of VM, who are already embracing Netflix and have registered interest in showing carrying Amazon Prime.

However, as discussed elsewhere, I do think they are a threat to our linear TV channels. These are likely to become unsustainable when advertising is no longer bringing in the readies, due to viewers seeking alternative ways of watching the telly.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

Some good points , probably part of the reason BT and Sky bid so aggressively.

I agree if your getting your BB and phone from one company its as easy to tag on your TV service. I'm not sure how sustainable the current pay TV package system of 100' s of channels is for some though with such fierce competition and low cost alternatives.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

For people who are not interested in sport, yes they are.

You did forget an important one though; Now TV. It gives access to many shows/channels that are only available via a pay TV subscription.

Netflix and Amazon are becoming more than just a source of previous seasons shows by making their own content and taking first run rights for several current US shows that would have ended up on a pay TV channel. A few examples are Vikings, Black Sails and Better Call Saul.

They are not a threat to Freeview channels; that system will work as it is for a long time yet. It is a threat for the pay TV customers who are not interested in sport. For us, basic Freeview plus streaming services work great.

---------- Post added at 13:42 ---------- Previous post was at 13:26 ----------

Thinking about it, sports rights holders have become the Luddites in this new TV world.

Pressure needs to be put on them to correct this. BT make their sports available on line I believe, but to access all Sky sports on line via Now TV would mean a house re-mortgage!

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

Freeview channels are also under threat, of course. Even Freeview only viewers will soon be able to access their programmes through on demand (and many can already do so through recordings) which will diminish substantially the income that will be available from advertising.

The BBC does not rely on advertising of course, but the TV licence is under review and could be slashed or eliminated altogether.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

Under threat in Freeview terms means OTA broadcasts diminishing, not alternative ways of accessing free content.


OTA broadcasts are not diminishing any time soon.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

It's only 'free' because it is funded by advertising or the licence fee. This is why I think that broadcast channels cannot survive in the long term.

The costs of running a channel as opposed to uploading programmes onto on demand or having them streamed must be considerable. And it is more convenient for the consumer.

The increasing access to technology and growing viewer confidence in using it, together with diminishing income from advertising and the licence fee will seal the fate of the broadcast channels in time.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

What time span are you going for this time ;)

Sometimes you go for ten years, other times twenty :)

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

BT Online player is only available if you have BT Broadband whilst its a good offer it restricts you to staying with BT for your broadband.

Now TV day pass is currently £6.99 and streamable on two devices simultaneously and offers all Sky Sports channels , they also have a weekly ticket at £10.99. Personally I don't think the day pass is bad value for the occasional sports watcher.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

True which makes BT sport inaccessible to many without a pay TV subscription. Not good.


So how does £44/pm via Now TV compare with the cost when adding it to a pay TV subscription? Not very well I suspect.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

Nobody makes entry level into sport cheap wonder why ;)

If you could pay £24.50 for Sky Sports the current monthly price on Sky (SD) via Now TV how many sports fans would drop their satellite TV service.

I agree with what your saying but right or wrong that's how it is , the huge sums paid this time don't look like that will change either.

Now TV sports passes are aimed at the occasional sports watcher.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

Which means Cord Cutting for sports fans is not really an option. Pay TV providers know that, so it aint likely to change anytime soon.

Maybe they should be 'encouraged' to change, the way the music industry was? They won't change themselves as the current situation is too monetarily cosy for them.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

All this time, and it turns out you actually don't know ... ;)

Costs are, of course, entirely relative. It may cost more to broadcast your content across the airwaves where any one of 35 million households can find it simply by switching their TV on (as opposed to just hiding it on a server somewhere until someone comes looking), but the trade-off is that vast numbers of casual viewers result in an attractive prospect for advertisers. The net cost is therefore not nearly so high.

It is more convenient for you, and other consumers who share your pattern of TV usage. It is not more convenient for "the" consumer, which is an all-encompassing term which would include myself, and the many other people who have spent the past several weeks patiently and repeatedly explaining to you that we don't want to pay for a streaming service, we don't mind TV adverts, and that a curated, linear TV schedule is actually, for millions of people, the most convenient means of accessing casual entertainment after a hard day at work.

it really won't. Not in my lifetime. But we've been here before. :walk:

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

I agree with some of what you say in that quote, apart from the part in bold, my wife and I were watching Broadchurch the other night and it was plagued with the most annoying adverts, I don't think i've seen as many ads screened in one show, really is a pain in the arse!

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

You only have to time delay the show though. I usually wait until 9:30 to watch it as a recording and then skip the ads. I started watching one episode at 9:20, the other week and still managed to fast forward through all the adverts.

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

Now you're being provocative! :D;)

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

Ok; maybe just a little :D

Re: Are the OTT providers the biggest threat ?
 

Not at the moment, there is still too much content missing, as for competing against Freeview, people who only have Freeview won't move over to a subscription based system due to it being a subscription.

As for streaming being more convenient for the viewer, I doubt it, most people live in chaos and won't want to organise their viewing, they want to just veg out in front of the telly and watch what's being shown

Trying to find a show is difficult, is it on Netflix, Amazon Prime or Now TV? All of which have different interfaces against one layout for all the various channels on Freeview, Sky, BT or VM

I suspect that the majority of people want an easy way to be entertained