There are many changes happening to the television industry, and people aren’t watching TV the same way they did 10 or 15 years ago. Netflix certainly changed the game when it started delivering DVDs right to users homes. This huge shift created competition between TV networks and Netflix for original content, and unraveled the pay-TV bundle that many people once had. As marketers, it’s important to not only notice these changes but to incorporate the new ideas into a marketing strategy.
One of the biggest changes we’ve seen in the television industry is the rise of Over-the-top media. According to Techopedia, “An OTT application is any app or service that provides a product over the Internet and bypasses traditional distribution.”
This means content is delivered over the Internet instead of the more traditional method of delivering content through satellite signals (plus it’s cheaper!). OTT offers direct-to-consumer services from individual networks, like HBO Now and CBS All Access, and they don’t require a pay-TV package. OTT is redefining what it means to watch TV. For example, a lot of millennials (anyone born in 1980-1998) are watching TV on the Internet.
Image via Ooyala.com
So how has the shift in the television industry affected the more traditional media?
This shift in the television industry has made a large impact on the pay-TV subscriptions. Although things are changing, it doesn’t mean the cable industry will just disappear. According to Credit Suisse Group analyst Omar Sheikh, TV content creators were finding new ways to make up sales. This helps them balance TV business as a whole.
Sheikh said, “…Content owners should be able to build profitable revenue streams outside traditional video which offsets the headwinds they face from a shrinking pay TV universe.”
How does this affect marketers?
It means that marketers have several choices in how they reach their target audience. According to MarTech Today, if they wanted to reach Game of Thrones viewers they would need to match their ads across many delivery paths. It also means marketers need to follow the content, not the delivery system. Viewers care less about how they watch something than what they are watching.
Television is evolving, and OTT is becoming an important part of the new world. These changes are new but change itself is something that is always happening. It’s important to stay on top of these shifts so we can advance.
For more reasons why cable companies will survive this digital shift, read this article.