ABTA: Brazilian Pay-TV Platforms Outline Growth Strategies

SÃO PAULO: In a session at ABTA 2014, representatives from Brazilian pay platforms NET, Oi TV, Claro HDTV and Blue Interactive Group agreed that creative, innovative strategies will be necessary for the expansion of the subscription TV base in the country.

Cristina Bandiera, the director of marketing and products at Claro HDTV, said that it is surprising how much her customers, in focus groups, know about the platform’s products, suggesting there is not a problem of communication but one of cost. “They know a lot, but there is a financial issue… how much they can pay.” Bandiera said that pre-paid packages are part of the operator's strategy to continue to drive subscriptions.

“Pay-TV is not viewed as superfluous any longer,” she continued. Customers want pay-TV, but “are unfaithful. They will jump from a provider to the next for a better price.” Bandiera and Silvia de Jesus, president of Blue Interactive, agreed that a good customer service helps in building loyalty.

“Customers can actually help (with customer service),” said Bandiera. This week, Claro will launch online forums to promote communication between customers. “It is a successful strategy abroad. We will open and monitor thematic forums where customers answer questions by other customers. It is credible, because the information comes directly from another customer, faster and it can reduce the demand for phone calls [to Claro customer service].”

Tiered packages have been essential at Oi TV, according to the company's head, Ariel Dascal. “We were stuck with 4 million subscribers until we came up with basic and mini-basic packages. That’s when we reached 19 million subscribers. We are currently immersed in a scenario of creative offers that give everything out to the client.” He reminded the audience that pay TV is an actual alternative for other forms of entertainment in times of economic crisis—it is cheaper to pay for a monthly subscription than to take the entire family to a movie theater” once a month, he said.

Addressing the competitive threat posed by OTT platform Netflix, Flavia Hecksher, marketing director of the Telecine bouquet, said that her channels must adjust faster than others, given the competitive environment among services delivering recent film releases. Netflix, she says, helped Telecine learn, leap frog ahead and innovate effectively. “We are working hard. We have a lot to improve and to figure out how to sustain growth.”

Advertising was the main topic on several panels at ABTA. Fábio Freitas, national media director at F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, said that pay-TV now has great opportunity to attract ad dollars, but there are many obstacles to overcome. “Prices on the free-TV platform can seem very overwhelming. But if you analyze it in comparison to the number of people affected, it is not. It's possible to have great coverage on pay TV, but it will require large-scale investment in various channels to achieve it. Ultimately, the advertiser wants results, i.e. higher return at the lowest possible cost.

ABTA 2014 Expo & Conference closed yesterday in São Paulo.

Camila Viegas-Lee is the editor of TV Brasil, World Screen’s Portuguese-language publication focused on the Brazilian media market. You can see its ABTA edition here.