Cable Show Session Addresses Online and On-Demand Content

LOS ANGELES: The opening general session at NCTA’s Cable Show in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon featured a diverse group of content and distribution panelists—including Viacom’s Philippe Dauman, Discovery’s David Zaslav and Time Warner Cable’s Glenn Britt—discussing the business models for making programming available online and on-demand.

Titled "Storytelling 3.0: Audiences, Creators, Content & Connection," the session featured Glenn Britt, the chairman, president and CEO of Time Warner Cable; Philippe Dauman, the president and CEO of Viacom; Patrick Esser, the president of Cox Communications; Keith Lee, the CEO and co-founder of Booyah; Kevin Tsujihara, the president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group; and David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Discovery Communications.

Addressing the role of on-demand and online today, Warner Bros.’ Tsujihara noted the strain on the home-entertainment business over the last few years, prompting the studios to rethink windowing strategies in order to "drive higher margins from the same consumer dollars." He referenced the TV, print and online campaign, The Video Store Just Moved In, that involved a host of Hollywood studios and pay-TV platforms and highlighted the range of movies that are available on cable on-demand services across the country. "It’s a $30 million campaign and we’re seeing instant results," Tsujihara said, adding that Warner Bros. has also instituted a 28-day window with DVD kiosk operators like Redbox and rental chains such as Netflix, in order to maximize VOD revenues. The studio has seen a 35-percent increase in on-demand buy rates since the campaign began, he said, making on-demand a "meaningful contributor to the profitability of a movie."

Viacom’s Dauman, meanwhile, spoke about the rollout of the multiplatform premium movie service EPIX and stated that its customer base is, on average, younger than competitor HBO’s. Dauman noted that 60 percent of EPIX’s customers are under 35, and that one of the service’s most popular services is its "private screening room" component, where users can watch films online with friends who are in other locations.

The discussion then turned to social media, and Zaslav cited how Discovery has been using Twitter, Facebook, short video clips and other platforms to build fan bases around its shows. He added, though, "as powerful as technology is, it only works if people are connected and feel passionate [about your brands]…you have to start with a great story and great character."

Zaslav went on to note that Discovery has held back on putting long-form content online, stating: "This jump to put long-form content on all these platforms didn’t make business sense and didn’t make consumer sense… There was a rush to take quality content we developed for TV and push it out [on other platforms.]" Zaslav added: "If you’re putting long form on all platforms, you’re diminishing its value on cable."

Dauman talked about the importance of windowing and, when appropriate, delaying an online broadcast in order to maximize the on-air viewing. He added: "we need to develop subscription models online."

Time Warner Cable’s Britt added that he feels that customers want to pay one bill in order to enjoy their content on all of the devices they use. "The consumer dynamic of paying once a month is a very powerful thing," he said.