At Amsterdam’s annual International Broadcasting Convention tradeshow, IHS Markit presented its analysis on the evolution of the telco video business. As part of the presentation, 50 leading telco video groups were identified by subscription and the performance benchmarks they have set.
The analysis presented at the tradeshow represented a preview of forthcoming deep-dive research to be published in a white paper, Video as a Core Service for Telcos: Analysis of 50 Leading Operators in Achieving Video Business Success, in November 2017.
One consensus view in a roundtable discussion was that telcos are well-placed to retain their position in the multiplay market. As long as consumers want digital content, whether video, music, or online games, they will need to pay for access to networks in order to get it. IHS Markit and the operators in attendance, generally saw video as a core service that represents the most marketable hook for attracting customers to their broadband and mobile offerings.
The operators did not feel that fragmentation would threaten their strong position as video aggregators. With the likes of Disney unbundling their channels via dedicated direct-to-consumer apps, operators will still be needed as distribution partners for these offerings.
The direct-to-consumer trend is still, in the IHS Markit view, a somewhat worrying trend for those operators when it comes to their pay-TV ambitions. IHS Markit believes that a wider distribution of key subscription video content on alternative platforms (such as on Amazon, Google, Roku, and others) has the potential to marginalise traditional pay-TV and undermine its appeal.
While the operators at the roundtable expressed a willingness to work with online content services that either behave like channels (such as Netflix) or aggregate semi-professional multi-channel network content that is not widely carried by traditional TV (such as YouTube), they were more wary of online aggregators moving into professional programming, especially Facebook.
IHS Markit presented its analysis at IBC on telco video business
