VOD : Linear is old tech - on demand is the future

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by denphone

Oh dear yet another top up cost on top of all the other streaming subscriptions you seemingly have lined up for yourself as your monthly costs keeps rising and rising and rising so much so it won't be long before its much dearer to subscribe to all those different streaming subscriptions then it is a Pay TV subscription each month.

Once you deduct the cost of the existing pay tv channels, you make a nice saving, with more choice into the bargain. And in case you weren't listening, I did say that people were likely to pick and choose the services they wanted, not necessarily subscribe to them all.

That's quite different from what we have now, where you have to subscribe to a huge pile of channels you don't want just to get the few you do want.

[muppetman11]

Someone who takes a Now TV Entertainment pass and a Now TV Cinema pass pays £17.98 a month and gets a great selection of content from most of those options the exception being Netflix and Amazon , they also get all the main movies across the bulk of the studios.

How are you going to make your world cheaper than that and offer more ?

[Aguero9320]

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2018/11/hulu-uk/

Looks like the UK might be getting Hulu after all.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

Someone who takes a Now TV Entertainment pass and a Now TV Cinema pass pays £17.98 a month and gets a great selection of content from most of those options the exception being Netflix and Amazon , they also get all the main movies across the bulk of the studios.

How are you going to make your world cheaper than that and offer more ?

I'm not comparing against Now TV, which is itself a streaming service. I'm comparing the streaming services with Sky and cable channel services.

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

I'm not comparing against Now TV, which is itself a streaming service. I'm comparing the streaming services with Sky and cable channel services.

It still contains a linear element to it , just a smaller selection of channels.

[jfman]

I don’t see how you can manage to not compare proposed streaming services with Now TV? It’s in the market, now. Has been for some time. Backed by Sky, and in turn Comcast who are huge.

Are proposed services cheaper than Now TV? Do they have the breadth of content? All reasonable questions.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by jfman

I don’t see how you can manage to not compare proposed streaming services with Now TV? It’s in the market, now. Has been for some time. Backed by Sky, and in turn Comcast who are huge.

Are proposed services cheaper than Now TV? Do they have the breadth of content? All reasonable questions.

Now TV is a streaming service.

[G4v1n]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Once you deduct the cost of the existing pay tv channels, you make a nice saving, with more choice into the bargain. And in case you weren't listening, I did say that people were likely to pick and choose the services they wanted, not necessarily subscribe to them all.

That's quite different from what we have now, where you have to subscribe to a huge pile of channels you don't want just to get the few you do want.

I ditched my TV package to go Broadband only (and moved to the pay monthly sub) and saved enough to cover the costs of Now TV entertainment and movies, Netflix and Amazon Prime.

You can easily obtain deals on NowTV to make it cheaper (just cancel a pass and they offer you four months at a reduced price and will email you over the next few months with cheap offers) and many will have Amazon Prime anyway.

With the above bundle of streaming services the choice is just miles better than any like-priced satellite or cable package and infinitely better than what I was previously paying for on Virgin.


One caveat is that in the US at least, many content producers are looking to start their own streaming services and that will lead to hideous fragmentation and likely a repeat of what we have seen with TV services. For now though, you can save money and pick up a few streaming subs and get access to almost everything you would want to see.

[Horizon]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

It still contains a linear element to it , just a smaller selection of channels.

And who's to say that linear will go completely even in a streaming world? Netflix 1,2,3 or Amazon 1,2,3 etc anyone?

Before we get to true smart, intelligent tv, the streaming services may have their own linear channels as a window into all their content. So, they could have a drama linear channel filled with various shows, but with the option to press red (or whatever) and access further episodes of those shows.

I think this is how all linear tv will go and said so somewhere at the beginning of this thread. The channels will act like shop windows into the various content of the streamers.

---------- Post added at 13:32 ---------- Previous post was at 13:26 ----------

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Once you deduct the cost of the existing pay tv channels, you make a nice saving, with more choice into the bargain. And in case you weren't listening, I did say that people were likely to pick and choose the services they wanted, not necessarily subscribe to them all.

That's quite different from what we have now, where you have to subscribe to a huge pile of channels you don't want just to get the few you do want.

I don't get that despite all the links posted here showing, especially in the States, the massive decline of pay tv bundles in favour of streaming, that some people still believe there will be pay tv packages in the future. There won't. It will be mostly streaming with perhaps a sprinkling of linear free channels.

And the other thing that hasn't been taken into account here, is the explosion of content available largely due to the arrival of the streamers. Of course it will be more expensive than current pay tv bundles, if everyone wants access to all content at all times. Most people will probably choose 2-3 streamers each month and mix and match as required. There won't be pay tv bundles in ten years time containing hundreds of linear channels.

[jfman]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Now TV is a streaming service.

I know. But surely it appeals to these people who want “skinny bundles”? Surely if there’s demand out there for lower priced sports, or people opting in and out without a contract over traditional Pay TV that’d be represented in the numbers?

What are new entrants offering that Now TV doesn’t?

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by Horizon

I don't get that despite all the links posted here showing, especially in the States, the massive decline of pay tv bundles in favour of streaming, that some people still believe there will be pay tv packages in the future. There won't.

The United States and Europe are completely different when it comes to cord cutting , I accept that in Europe the UK is more at risk owing to the fact it has some of the highest pay TV prices but it is still nowhere near to the cord cutting thats been seen in the US.

Have you ever watched TV in the US ? The amount of ads live TV has over there is another reason On Demand has accelerated far quicker.

[Gavin-D]

UKTV have pulled the following channels from TV player

- Dave
- W
- Gold
- Alibi
- Eden
- Good Food
- Really
- Yesterday
- Drama
- Home
- Dave ja vu
- Yesterday+1

https://support.tvplayer.com/hc/en-u...er-on-TVPlayer

[denphone]

They obviously think they can monetise their content better elsewhere.

[OLD BOY]

Interesting article here on the evolution of streaming services and it includes the argument I have been making for some time that as many OTT services as possible should be capable of being accessed from one box.

It also addresses the difficulty some people have of finding the right content for them to watch.

http://www.csimagazine.com/csi/Strea...xt-chapter.php

EXTRACT

The explosive growth in TV choices has seemingly escalated consumer frustration. A Hub Entertainment Research survey of US consumers last July found consumers hungry for consolidation: looking for fewer platforms — even a single platform — that will deliver their full array of content in one place.

“The opportunity is for pay TV operators to take advantage of this ‘cord confusion’ by providing a single platform that will build loyalty among existing subscribers, bring in new consumers and even win back lapsed customers,” suggests Mark Evensen, CTO at Amino.

The research indicates the time is right: among respondents, more than twice as many would rather access all their TV and video content from a single provider (69%) than through a range of sources (31%) “making it crystal clear that consumers long for simplicity when it comes to choosing and managing their entertainment choices,” says Evensen.

Laurent Maillot, marketing manager for pay-TV operator Orange agrees: “Consumers are looking for some flexibility. They prefer to have premium content from different providers but only one stop shopping. They don’t want multiple accounts.”

He adds: “We are convinced that the next phase of pay-TV strategy globally is about aggregated SVOD.”

So if Virgin get on board with this quickly (and they got on board with Netflix and StarzPlay in a timely fashion - not the case with Amazon) then this could help them win customers from Sky. That assumes, of course, that Sky haven't got such a plan already!

[Mad Max]

Good find, OB