As subscription video-on-demand services have gained enormous up-take with consumers, traditional cable companies feel threatened enough to launch their own takes on the online bundle.
But what if, for a cable provider, video wasn’t the thing worth paying for at all?
What if market evolution suggests MVPDs should open their platforms to the new competition, and make higher margin from a new focus on broadband infrastructure?
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Darren Glatt, Searchlight Capital Partners partner, discusses the changing emphasis for the traditional cable company.
“These companies will have to think very deliberately on how they transition their video models,” says Glatt, whose firm last year made a $225 milion investment in ad-tech firm MediaMath, bringing the tech company’s total amount raised up to $607.5 million, according to Crunchbase.
“They are fine with their video product lagging, in favor of OTT and IP TV platforms, because the more devices the consumer has in his or her home, the higher-bandwidth speed they will require to maintain functionality
“If you think about 10, 12 devices … all of that requires high-speed internet broadband. Which is, ultimately, a very high-margin product for the cable providers.”
Can cable companies make that kind of transition? Historically, they have preferred to gatekeepers to video content.
Increasingly, however, they are adopting a two-pronged approach – not only opening up their own online TV bundles, but often even carrying rivals’.
“What I think you’ll see, is over the next few years, the cable providers begin to embrace more of IPTV,” Glatt bets.
“Five years ago, they were very reluctant around platforms like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube.
“But, the more applications run through their gateway, through their platform, the more the customer will consume broadband, which is a much more profitable product for them.”
This video was recorded at the MediaMath Connect All Fronts industry conference in Manhattan. The series is sponsored by MediaMath. For more videos please visit this page.
