Pay-TV Operators Must Embrace Online Video

SCOTTSDALE: While cord-cutting has not yet reached levels that would cause concern for pay-TV operators, ABI Research has issued a new report indicating that subscription platforms must embrace online video in order to keep up with changes in media-consumption habits.

Surveying 2,000 U.S. consumers about consumer-electronic products in their households, ABI Research found that only 10 percent of respondents did not subscribe to a pay-TV service. “In a relatively fragmented connected consumer-electronics market, the pay-TV package is still the best means to get the widest range of content," said Jason Blackwell, practice director. "In addition, some programming, such as sports and premium content, is still pay-TV centric, even with TV Everywhere initiatives.”

The research further indicates that consumers who do have connected devices are watching seven to eight hours of online video on those devices every week. ABI Research notes that pay-TV platforms should tap into this trend while it is still in its early days. “Now is the time for pay-TV operators to act," Blackwell says. "Currently the services on connected CE platforms are commanded by a few early leaders. Netflix and YouTube, for instance, are the clear consumer favorites for online video, while the divide is even greater for social networking where Facebook captures 97 percent of social networkers on CE devices (compared to 32 percent for MySpace, the next closest competitor).”