Distributors, creators and advertisers are all focused on keeping viewers engaged, but it’s generally understood that the industry is changing. Today, consumers want the convenience to watch video when it works for them personally – not on a provider’s schedule. Plus, there is a growing population of “cord nevers”, as well as accelerated cord cutting by traditional pay TV subscribers hammering broadcasters and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) alike. And yet, content consumption continues to increase despite contraction in the traditional pay TV market.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) reports that a slowdown in pay TV subscriber growth can be found in mature markets and even in some newer markets worldwide. However, this doesn’t preclude the need for access to and the desire for engaging content; rather, consumers are looking for more control over how and when they access that content.
By 2019, the pay-TV OTT market is expected to be worth $31.6 billion globally, up from just $8 billion in 2014.
With wider availability of OTT content, consumers’ choices and options for viewing will continue to increase as new consumption methodologies emerge and gain adoption.
While it’s far from clear which new business models will prevail, it’s obvious that content distributors, creators and advertisers will need to remain flexible and ensure new platforms provide them maximum flexibility to pursue whatever models resonate with their consumers.
Fortunately, as they respond to consumer demand and competitive pressures in the years ahead, there are plenty of reference indicators today for identifying the capabilities they should expect.
Some of these indicators can be found in measures of consumer behaviour; others reside in new cutting-edge initiatives undertaken by various players in the broadcast, MVPD and OTT camps.
