S\u00c3O PAULO: The ABTA Expo & Conference 2016 wrapped with a well-attended session about how pay-TV platforms can maintain their subscriber bases in trying economic times by focusing on the value of digital services to consumers.<\/p>\n
The session started with a presentation by Maur\u00edcio de Almeida Prado, partner and executive director at the research and consultancy firm Plano CDE. His team studied why Brazilian socio-economic classes CD kept their pay-TV subscriptions during the recent economic turmoil. (Brazil’s pay-TV subscription base fell by about 2 percent last year, which is considered low compared to the 3.8 percent drop in the GDP in the same period.)<\/p>\n
Prado discovered that most middle-class families, predominantly based in smaller cities, are unhappy with the lack of cultural options, parks and recreation centers in their neighborhoods. They are also concerned with outside violence and expenses related to transportation, food and tickets. So, in general, they consider pay TV a good alternative for entertainment. \u201cMany parents, for instance, said that they prefer having their children and their children’s friends watching quality content they can control in the security of their homes.\u201d Prado showed clips of interviewees, including a young man who used to go to sports events and was robbed. \u201cNow he invites his friends over and follows his favorite team on sports channels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another advantage of pay TV mentioned by the interviewees was the exposure to different cultures, countries, gastronomy and movies\u2014things viewers would not otherwise have access to. Prado made a connection to social theorist Pierre Bourdieu, who coined the concept of cultural capital\u2014the collection of symbolic elements such as tastes, posture, clothing, mannerisms, material belongings, etc. that one acquires through being part of a particular social class.<\/p>\n
According to Bourdieu, sharing similar forms of cultural capital with others\u2014the same taste in movies, music and gastronomy, for example\u2014creates a sense of collective identity and group position, \u201cpeople like us,\u201d and that cultural capital can be a major source of social inequality. \u201cPay TV helps equalize that cultural capital and can help one\u2019s social mobility, especially in the labor market,\u201d Prado explained. \u201cA trainee who can talk about culture with his\/her boss has a better chance for promotion than the one who was never exposed to it. Pay TV represents a window to the world. It informs, empowers, inspires and transforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alberto Pecegueiro, CEO at Globosat, recalled that industry executives used to refer to the arrival of classes CD as the \u201cbarbarian invasion.\u201d According to him, \u201cPay TV is clearly beneficial to these classes, but it is relevant to highlight how this is a two-way street.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we kept [monitoring] the changes they triggered in the subscriber base profile, we were almost forced to change some of our channels’ orientation to be able to talk to them. It was not a trivial exercise,\u201d Pecegueiro said, adding that programming for classes AB was \u201cvery comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Free TV was for the masses and pay TV for classes AB. \u201cWhen [CD] arrived at the volume in which they came, we had to understand their expectations and react consciously that we needed to attend to them without losing sight of the appeal to classes AB. At Globosat we have seen the efforts of operators as well as the association of pay TV and free TV\u2014a powerful combination, the appeal of free TV and the deepening of pay TV.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about changes in consumption habits especially related to younger audiences, Pecegueiro said that every time he thinks about young subscribers he remembers two quotes: \u201cThe problem of the youth is that we are not part of it,\u201d by cartoonist Mill\u00f4r Fernandes, and playwright Nelson Rodrigues’ recommendation to young people, \u201cGrow old fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pecegueiro said, \u201cThe issue with the young complaining about bundle limitations, the speed in which products change, freedom…it is very fun to want what you want, when you want it, the way you want it, but who pays this bill?\u201d Pecegueiro added that \u201cthe elephant in the room, already mentioned in other conferences, is that Netflix is a giant with a rat’s margin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m not sure if, deep inside, the propensity to respond to consumer demands at any price doesn’t actually take away its value,” Pecegueiro continued. “We have to gauge this belief spread by marketing gurus\u2014[that companies must] put consumers first\u2014with business reasonability.\u201d He added that pay-TV companies have adapted adequately. \u201cWe are all looking at the same direction, offering TV Everywhere packages, placing more of our content on demand. [But] there needs to be a business model behind it. To pursue it inconsequently is the best way to nowhere. Let’s see how this business will find its balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
ABTA Expo & Conference 2017 will take place between June 28 and 30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
S\u00c3O PAULO: The ABTA Expo & Conference 2016 wrapped with a well-attended session about how pay-TV platforms can maintain their subscriber bases in trying economic times by focusing on the value of digital services to consumers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[303,194],"class_list":["post-3038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-abta-2016","tag-alberto-pecegueiro"],"yoast_head":"\n