If competition is the stamp of a healthy marketplace, than premium television competition is more than healthy – it’s downright fierce. Cable, satellite, telco and web streaming services are all fighting for subscribers. We have options for watching TV via linear programming, on demand and DVR viewing, TV Everywhere services and software apps for all of our devices. We can choose robust channel bundles, lighter bundles, channels a la carte and even individual programs. And thanks to the flexibility of IP based services, these devices and services will be able to quickly change to offer yet-unimagined viewing opportunities.
“IP-enabled retail video devices now number over 460 million – twice the number of traditional set-top boxes in use.”
Perhaps most revolutionary to the TV experience in recent years is the device on which we watch. Considering all of the devices that enable web streaming and app marketplaces, practically every screen on earth is capable of delivering a unique TV experience. While some devices like TiVo use CableCARDs – decryption devices that allow retail boxes to work via multiple cable systems – others, like the IP-enabled Roku, use apps to access premium content. It might surprise you to know that the most widely deployed IP-enabled retail video devices now number over 460 million – twice the number of traditional set-top boxes in use. In fact, 66 percent of these IP-enabled retail devices can be served by all of the top ten multichannel provider apps. And these apps aren’t just offering linear programming, they’re inventing all-new ways to watch, like download-to-go. A recent report from Adobe Digital Index confirms this, finding a 282 percent year-over-year increase in TV Everywhere viewing on smart devices like smartphones and tablets.
Major cable providers aren’t the only ones taking advantage of the device revolution. Program networks like Viacom and Scripps Network Interactive are entering into distribution contracts with consumer electronics device manufacturers like Sony to offer an over-the-top cable experience via Smart TVs, PlayStations, and other Internet connected devices. In fact, according to NPD’s Retail Tracking Service, 45 percent of TVs sold in the U.S. during the second quarter of 2015 supported apps, up from 34 percent last year and 24 percent two years ago. And many program networks like HBO and ESPN already offer their own direct-streaming apps available across almost every device, including these app-supporting Smart TVs.
What this all means is that competition and innovation in the video marketplace is intense. We are just at the beginning of these exciting developments. Sit back and enjoy.