Pay TV providers adopting new ways to survive

Threatened by over the top (OTT) video streaming players like Netflix, Pay TV players are increasingly partnering with third party content providers to explore and implement new revenue generation models such as revenue sharing with content owners and pay-per-use mobile access to non-subscribers, finds a survey.

The survey conducted by Amdocs -- a global software and services provider -- reveals that 82 per cent of the respondents acknowledge that consumers are increasingly expressing a preference for on-demand content in a rapid shift from linear TV programming towards video on-demand.

The trend, which will continue over the next 3-5 years, is due to the disruption of the traditional broadcast TV business model by the rise of OTT players, increased video-on-demand content as well as multi-screen and TV everywhere technologies.

"TV content viewing no longer takes place on TV screens alone. People across the globe are consuming on-demand content on the devices of their choice and they demand more personalised experiences," Daniela Perlmutter, Head of product and solution marketing at Amdocs, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Further, Pay TV providers are recognising the market trend and responding by searching for ways to expand their offerings and generate revenue from non-subscribers such as via ad-supported OTT services or by offering pay-per-use content on mobile devices, the survey revealed.

"Pay TV providers who recognise the changing consumer behaviour trend need to invest more in solutions that allow them to quickly onboard and integrate partners as well as offer premium personalised OTT video services while efficiently monetising new revenue opportunities and earning the loyalty of high-value customers," Perlmutter added.

According to 65 per cent of the respondents, targeted advertisements will be the key revenue driver in the next 3-5 years because subscription fees are becoming insufficient to support new content consumption.

Over 70 per cent cited customer satisfaction and supporting new customer acquisition as the biggest challenges of on-demand video service offerings, while 53 per cent noted that platform interoperability and integrating with existing platforms represent the most critical deployment challenges.

In addition, nearly 50 per cent of the respondents said that bundling OTT content with core products and offering a partner's OTT service on multiple screens are critical to attracting and retaining subscribers.

The results are based on a survey of the world's leading 17 Pay TV providers, representing over 100 million active subscribers.

--IANS

rt/amit/bg