A Closer Look at Streaming: A Review and Look Ahead
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First, an opportunity to win a 32” Fire TV!
We’ve been blogging about all things streaming since mid-October and want to give the faithful readers an opportunity to show off their streaming knowledge.
If you are behind or haven’t had the opportunity to read all the blogs, you can read them on the HTC Employee Blog page. For a chance to win one of two 32” Amazon Fire TVs, take this quick quiz. Score 100% and you’ll be entered. The drawing takes place on Monday, February 3rd, so don’t delay!
While we’re on the Subject…
Since we are talking about quizzes, here’s another pop-quiz!
Q: What do Frontier Communications, Wow! Communications, and Focus Broadband (formerly ATMC) have in common?
A:These are all internet service providers that serve the Carolinas who no longer offer traditional Cable TV service to members/customers. They might even be called ‘cable companies that got out of the cable business.’
It’s Definitely a Trend
Over the past couple of years this is a trend that we are seeing more and more of, and it’s not going to slow down.
It seems that every other month or so another provider announces they are exiting the business. Why is this? It is a combination of two things:
- The number of people paying for and watching cable networks is falling every year, and there’s no end in sight.
- Second, the contractual content cost to the providers has risen to the point that there is no profit margin on the cable line of business.
In fact, when all costs are factored in, cable TV often loses money for the companies.
Are there Alternatives?
The rise in popularity of services like YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV have changed the game. With the ability to offer service nationally, their buying power enables them to sell to the consumer at a rate far below what many Cable Companies can BUY the programming at.
Is HTC making the Jump?
Despite this ongoing trend, HTC is NOT jumping out of the Cable TV business. We will offer video for the foreseeable future. As a company, we need to ensure that we are doing so in the best manner possible. This is why we will continue to convert our video members to TV MAX and work towards this single source of video.
It is extremely difficult (at best) to say how long traditional video will be offered at HTC, as the industry is changing at an extremely fast pace. As of now, while members are still interested in video with us, we’ll continue to offer it.
Planning for the Future
While we do, we will also educate our members on video alternatives through our blogs and social media channels. We also need our employee base to understand that HTC fully supports any member who decides to take advantage of one of the other video platforms, and will happily provide them with the internet they need to enjoy it seamlessly.
