The media and telecom industries are seeing a phenomenal shift in video/TV viewing habits and consumers are demanding smaller bundles of content, so expect to see the OTT players start to offer bundles.
Speaking at Broadband Asia in Singapore last week, Samsung Asia VP of content and services Nicholas Wodtke said a fundamental shift in viewing patterns is “happening today and we have to stand up and pay attention to it”.
While there’s been a good bit of talk about the cord cutters, those giving up pay-TV, little attention has been given to the “cord nevers” – the younger generation who have never had pay-TV.
“The cord nevers don’t even understand the concept of scheduled viewing. They are thinking about TV in a far different way and are accessing video content directly through their PCs on their beds. They’re not coming to the living room, they’re not using the remote control,” he said.
Wodtke pointed to the US where pay-TV subscription have been flat at 100 million for the past three years. Meanwhile, 18% of households with Netflix or Hulu have decided to cord cut. Netflix has grown from 20 million subs in 2010 to over 33 million and is growing fast, which he said could potentially intersect with pay-TV – a classic OTT impact on incumbent service providers.
On-demand viewing, he said, is another exciting and dynamic area. “You’re starting to see content that’s created with huge production values, sophisticated story lines, and now you have motion picture actors that are starting to participate in TV.”