by Anthony Smith-Chaigneau, Sr. Director Product Marketing
Welcome to Part Two in our three-part series addressing the “Insights for M&E Success in 2020”. In our second installment, we are focusing on consumer behavior and its impact on the M&E industry. If you missed the first post of the of this blog series, you can catch up here to learn about the security holes that need to be filled to effectively protect valuable content and protect revenues.
We know the consumer is king. And, when it comes to consumers’ evolving wants and needs, there are various topics to address to ensure you have a solid business strategy that will drive long-term results. The top trends we are seeing in this area are content aggregation, new business and delivery models and, of course, the opportunity in sports OTT.
A Fresh Look at Content Aggregation
With many content owners launching their own DTC offerings, the media landscape is becoming more fragmented, which in turn is becoming a major issue for the user. Aggregation is key. And, as existing aggregators of content, pay-TV providers are uniquely positioned to offer more efficient and scaled services and bundled offerings to adapt to the modern consumer’s needs.
According to findings from the latest Pay-TV Innovation Forum, operators know they have to rise to the challenge of popular – and now ubiquitous – OTT services. The good news is that many pay TV operators have already aggregated OTT apps and the move to include a variety of key VOD, SVOD and AVOD services is already well under way.
As TV operators are reinventing themselves as super aggregators and working to converge everything into one coherent experience, leading client device ecosystems, such as Android TV, cannot be ignored. In fact, Android TV has already proven to be a go-to solution for many service providers, enabling them to deliver operator-tier branded UEX, Google TV services, direct carrier billing and more.
New Business and Delivery Models
Recent Pay-TV Innovation Forum findings show that the pay-TV and video industry landscape is evolving rapidly, driven by consumers’ appetite for video content delivered to the device of their choice, whenever and wherever they want it. This is creating exciting opportunities for new business models, products and services.
To adapt to the changing landscape, industry executives expect traditional pay-TV packages to be radically re-structured. Service providers will have to experiment with packages that cater to the unique needs and behaviors of all customers, but with strong focus on cord cutters and younger generations. Understanding consumer preferences will be essential to creating the successful pay-TV packages of the future and new pay-TV aggregation models will have to reflect consumer appetite for more efficient, rather than unnecessarily bloated, bundles.
The Disruption of Sports OTT
When it comes to the rise of sports OTT, pay-TV service providers must look to their strengths and ensure that they create the right content bundles to stay relevant. Being able to adapt will be the key to success. The way to accomplish this is through new business models, as well as effective strategies for fan engagement in sports content. If all the pieces of this comprehensive approach are put together correctly, operators and content owners will be able to maintain their consumer reach via great content packages. They need to show customers that they understand the market and that they can deliver the great viewing experience that the modern consumer expects.
The third and final installment of our “Insights for M&E Success in 2020” blog series will focus on the very timely and important topic of business performance analytics for the pay-TV industry. Information is power, and with the right expertise and AI-driven business performance platform, you can be set up for the best business decisions possible.
Interested in learning more about trends impacting the M&E industry and how to be prepared for them? Get in touch with us!