Sands Shifting under Pay TV's Feet

Sept. 14, 2016
According to research from NAGRA and MTM, pay TV, while still growing worldwide, has entered a period of significant change, creating both ...

According to research from NAGRA and MTM, pay TV, while still growing worldwide, has entered a period of significant change, creating both challenges and opportunities pay TV operators. Some 83% of executives surveyed stated that competition is set to increase dramatically, as pay TV companies, telcos and OTT service providers compete for subscribers. As a result, innovation is becoming more important and more urgent for the pay TV industry, with 82% of executives urveyed considering it to be one of the top three strategic priorities for the industry going forward and 78% agreeing that in order to grow, service providers will have to innovate strongly over the next five years.

Looking forward, executives cited strengthening their core pay TV platform by going beyond traditional services as their main area of opportunity by focusing on multiscreen/TV Everywhere [] services (76%), new types of content (74%), and new content pricing and packaging strategies (73%). Some 54% of executives surveyed also saw opportunities in advanced advertising and data, as well as standalone OTT services (53%).

Identifying opportunities for innovation globally, the survey notes that many service providers have already started investing in new growth areas. North American providers, for example, see a significant commercial opportunity in new forms of content that appeal to Millennials and Generation Z such as digital-first short-form content, on-boarding of third-party OTT services, virtual reality, and gaming. Some European and Asia-Pacific pay TV service providers also see value in providing OTT or gaming services on their pay TV platforms, particularly through partnerships. Only a smaller number of large scale operators currently address business adjacencies such as advanced advertising and Internet of Things (IoT).