More than four in every five (83%) of executives state that competition is set to increase dramatically, as pay-TV companies, telcos and OTT service providers compete for subscribers, according to a study from Nagra and MTM.
As a result, innovation is becoming more important and more urgent for the pay-TV industry, with 82% of executives considering it to be one of the top three strategic priorities for the industry going forward, and 78% agreeing that in order to grow, service providers will have to innovate strongly over the next five years.
Looking forward, executives cited strengthening their core pay-TV platform by going beyond traditional services as their main area of opportunity by focusing on multiscreen/TV everywhere services (76%), new types of content (74%), and new content pricing and packaging strategies (73%).
Just over half of executives also see opportunities in advance advertising and data (54%), as well as standalone OTT services (53%).
Identifying opportunities for innovation globally, the research notes that many service providers have already started investing in new growth areas. North American providers, for example, see a significant commercial opportunity in new forms of content that appeal to Millennials and Generation Z such as digital-first short-form content, on-boarding of third-party OTT services, virtual reality, and gaming.
Some European and Asia Pacific pay-TV service providers also see value in providing OTT or gaming services on their pay-TV platforms, particularly through partnerships. Only a smaller number of large scale operators currently address business adjacencies such as advanced advertising and Internet of Things (IoT).
The research also identifies four major innovation success factors for the industry including strong customer and market insight, having the right platforms and processes, as well as strategic and collaborative partnerships with best-of-breed technology suppliers and content companies.
“As broadband becomes more ubiquitous in several markets, competition from streaming media platforms intensifies and consumer TV and video journeys evolve, it is clear that the industry needs to innovate at a faster pace to satisfy its customers and remain relevant,” said Simon Trudelle, senior product marketing director for Nagra. “Thanks to the work of the Pay-TV Innovation Forum, we now have a global view of the state of innovation around the world and a foundation of key learnings to ensure future success and growth for pay-TV service providers.”
“The pay-TV industry is a global success story,” said Jon Watts, managing partner at MTM. “Despite some regional differences, the majority of executives expect to continue innovating around their core pay-TV services, improving user experience and developing new ways to price and package content, bringing new kinds of content onto their TV platforms, and continuing to invest in multiscreen offerings. The research program also shows that successful service providers have focused strongly on developing their innovation capabilities, enabling them to adapt to new market conditions.”