2CC: Getting more out of Cable…PPVH metric and beyond…
How are the MSOs going to drive value without increasing the prices for subscriber? On a competitive scale, it will be interesting to see how the PPVH price point compares to the Telcos / Satellite providers. Not sure if this data is available somewhere….
Now back to PPVH...To appreciate the PPVH data better, let’s look at Nielsen’s latest Q2’09 A2/M2 measurement report on average TV consumption trend. Nielsen estimates that the current average American TV consumption is around 141 hrs per month. On a year-to-year basis, the consumption has increased only by 1.5%, whereas it has dropped 8% qtr-over-qtr. Nielsen’s latest data also shows that the online video viewership has increased by 45.5% over 2008, though the usage has been flat.
So, the threat to Cable is two-fold: (1) A flat TV viewership for linear content (2) A growing percentage of online users or at least, it appears that more are testing online video waters.How are the Cable MSOs strategizing to improve cable consumption? To step up, consumers will demand quality content, more HD channels and a better choice of channel line-up. For a cable operator, this could translate into increased content delivery costs through a combination of programming costs and cable plant investments / upgrades. MSOs need to think on how to deliver more value driving the costs down.Simultaneously, the MSOs could focus on better customer engagement by delivering more interactive applications -- TV Apps-stores, Social Media Networking are some of the levers which could improve stickiness. Btw, will Cable’s Tru2Way highway be truly two-way?
