{"id":12201,"date":"2015-03-26T16:02:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-26T16:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/index.php\/post\/binge-viewing-and-skinny-bundles-what-s-provider-do\/"},"modified":"2015-03-26T16:02:00","modified_gmt":"2015-03-26T16:02:00","slug":"binge-viewing-and-skinny-bundles-what-s-provider-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/binge-viewing-and-skinny-bundles-what-s-provider-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Binge Viewing and Skinny Bundles: What\u2019s a Provider to Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Commercial ratings for broadcast and cable networks were down about -12% each YOY. That\u2019s the 5th<\/sup> month in a row. On the other side of the equation, consumers are complaining about having to pay for 500+ TV channels. <\/span><\/div>\n

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On the ratings side of things, industry pundits suggested Nielsen is having a hard time figuring out how to count viewing that doesn\u2019t actually take place on a TV set. Maybe Nielsen could issue everyone little spiral pads and pencils and viewers could make notes what they\u2019re watching on different mobile devices and mail them in. Or maybe something with a stylus. Other analysts have offered up the thought that the changes in commercial ratings and a desire for a smaller number of select shows are probably due to shifts in viewership habits \u00e0 la mobile devices. <\/span><\/div>\n

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Well, some answers may be on the way that will change all that no matter what platforms consumer use. It\u2019s something called \u201cskinny bundles,\u201d or Web services from providers such as Apple or Dish that offer just a small selection of vey popular channels at a much lower prices. These skinny bundles  \u2013 so different from the traditional 500+ channel, pay-TV that ends up pairing weaker channels with stronger ones to boost revenue \u2013 feeds right into elements that emotionally engage consumer with streaming video.<\/span><\/div>\n

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The two biggest emotional engagement drivers that control consumer-viewing behavior deal with a desire for a range of original<\/em> entertainment choices and providing viewers with an opportunity to \u201cbinge\u201d on new shows, a relatively new value to the category and something that has become critical to audience preference and choice, particularly as it has to do with streaming video. Fees do come into play because consumers are tired of paying for stuff they never watch, and smaller packages  \u2013 especially if producers are building them to meet binge expectations \u2013 puts real pressure on content producers. <\/span><\/div>\n

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Streaming video is currently seen as better meeting overall consumer expectations so that their perception of the Price-Value equation ends up looking better than cable. And as consumer behavior correlates very, very highly with how well a brand meets consumer expectations, we weren\u2019t surprised with the broadcast and cable declines.<\/span><\/div>\n

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For Video Streaming, here\u2019s how actual viewers ranked their own services \u00e1 la their very high expectations:<\/span><\/div>\n

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1.    <\/span>Netflix<\/span><\/div>\n
2.    <\/span>Amazon<\/span><\/div>\n
3.    <\/span>iTunes<\/span><\/div>\n
4.    <\/span>Google Play \/ Hulu<\/span><\/div>\n
5.    <\/span>Crackle \/ YouTube <\/span><\/div>\n
6.    <\/span>Veoh \/ Vimeo \/ Vudu<\/span><\/div>\n
7.    <\/span>Iwatchonline<\/span><\/div>\n
8.    <\/span>Blockbuster \/ Cinema Now<\/span><\/div>\n

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This is where the issue of \u201cbrand\u201d comes into play. Brand \u2013 however you define it \u2013 ultimately brings with it an \u201cadded-value\u201d that similar offerings can\u2019t make or can\u2019t believably make. Netflix, for example, has increasingly become associated with new, highly creative original content like House of Cards<\/em>, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt<\/em>, and its newest offering, Bloodline. <\/em>They\u2019ve been upping the entertainment and consumer engagement ante by releasing nine new shows this year alone. To keep up other video streaming services will have to follow.<\/span><\/div>\n

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So what\u2019s coming to a screen near you? Apple is going to debut an online service this year with about 25 channels and is in talks with broadcasters ABC, CBS and Fox to also provide Web-based TV. Viacom is experimenting with direct-to-consumers over the Internet. Dish’s Sling TV currently offers 20 channels for $20 a month. Cable companies, already struggling as more viewers move to online streaming video are pushing Web-accessed skinny bundles, with local channels and HBO for as low as $40 a month for the first year to try and keep customers.<\/span><\/div>\n

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And the paradigm shifts keep coming!  The availability of skinny bundles may lead more people to abandon all those large TV packages that pose a threat to networks that aren’t included in the new online TV services. Niche networks with already-slimmed down audiences are clearly at risk in a skinny-bundle world and may need to offer their programming over the Web. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Today the average home in the U.S. receives 189 TV channels. Currently advertised packages have a lot more, but again, most of which viewers never watch, let alone name. Guess how many they actually do watch. If you said, \u201c17,\u201d you\u2019d be correct. But with binge viewing growing, that number may be too restrictive even for the most budget-conscious viewer. Maybe a \u201cmedium bundle\u201d with a slightly slower binge metabolism will be the answer.<\/span> <\/div>\n

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Commercial ratings for broadcast and cable networks were down about -12% each YOY. That\u2019s the 5th month in a row. On the other side of the equation, consumers are complaining about having to pay for 500+ TV channels. On the ratings side of things, industry pundits suggested Nielsen is having a hard time figuring out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1874,1873],"class_list":{"0":"post-12201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-cable","8":"tag-tv"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12201\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartdatacollective.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}