TV access meets mobile demand

ANY TIME, ANY PLACE: Philip Burrows, a Verizon manager, watches live TV on his tablet at the train station in Basking Ridge, N.J. Internet streaming of TV, film and video are markets that providers of traditional cable TV services such as Verizon, Cox and Full Channel Inc. are catering to more and more, the companies say. / COURTESY VERIZON
ANY TIME, ANY PLACE: Philip Burrows, a Verizon manager, watches live TV on his tablet at the train station in Basking Ridge, N.J. Internet streaming of TV, film and video are markets that providers of traditional cable TV services such as Verizon, Cox and Full Channel Inc. are catering to more and more, the companies say. / COURTESY VERIZON

In Rhode Island, television access through providers like Verizon, Cox and Full Channel Inc. is evolving to meet consumer demand from so-called “cord-cutters,” who view TV on mobile devices anywhere and everywhere.
“There’s no question that the model for TV and programming is changing,” said Stuart Freiman, program director at Broadband Rhode Island, a division of the R.I. Commerce Corp. “My daughter’s generation, they’ll probably never buy cable. They’ve already figured out how to buy things on the Internet and watch what they want to watch. As long as you have a really good Internet connection, that’s really the future of TV.”
Of course, cable providers in Rhode Island also provide phone and Internet service, so they are positioned to capitalize on so-called “TV everywhere,” which has even been incorporated into some providers’ branding.
“Full Channel’s TV Everywhere platform is included at no additional charge with Digital Expanded TV,” according to the company’s website. “TV Everywhere lets you stream shows from your favorite TV networks on your smartphone, tablet, Mac or PC.”
The demand has come over the past few years at Full Channel, which covers Barrington, Warren and Bristol, said Levi Maaia, president Full Channel Labs, a division focused on online innovation and technology, and appears to be here to stay. Streaming high-definition video over the Internet at high speeds includes new content from many of the major TV networks, he said.
TV Everywhere supports Android and Apple smartphones and tablets as well as set-top streaming devices such as those available from Roku and Amazon, he added.
Likewise, Cox offers TV packages that enable viewers to connect to their favorite shows “anytime, anywhere” for prices starting at $49.99.
And at Verizon, nationally, this past October, the company launched a $60-a-month package that provides its most popular Internet service, 10 local TV channels and HBO, Showtime and Netflix to consumers who do not want to pay for television programming they never intend to use, said Verizon spokesman Philip Santoro.
Bundling TV subscriptions together, a common practice, is not something consumers today are always willing to pay for, when it provides channels they don’t want or intend to watch, he said.
“There are a number of ways people are watching TV today,” Santoro said. “We’re trying to be cognizant of those demands. [This package] indicates yet another way for us to address yet another consumer demand. You’re getting what you need.” So who are the “cord-cutters?”
According to a Dec. 10 report in the Philadelphia Inquirer, mostly (but not only) millennials are cutting the cord with pay-TV cable providers and watching TV through Internet access, largely on mobile devices. The Inquirer cited information from research firm Magna Global, which found cord-cutters are expected to increase from 6.5 million households in 2014 to 16 million households in 2018.
That has providers coming up with innovative bundles and packages to keep consumers tethered to their traditional services, while still offering Internet speeds that can manage video streaming. But a la carte programming, which would allow a customer to pick and choose channels, is not likely to be offered anytime soon, cable providers say.
“There is a myth that if consumers could subscribe to only their most viewed channels they would drastically reduce their bills,” said Dana Alexander Nolfe, director of public relations for Cox Northeast, which includes Rhode Island, Connecticut and Ohio, in an email.
Cable providers don’t buy the individual content from channel owners, Nolfe said. Providers are charged for bundles of channels, mostly based on what’s popular, with less-popular channels included. So if people wanted to pick and choose, particularly preferred channels, they would likely pay a similar amount, if not more, for fewer channels, she said.
“The best value for video content today remains a broad bundle of cable channels, even if they aren’t always viewed,” wrote Nolfe. “And with new services like Contour that help match viewing preferences to content, customers are discovering new programs and … networks. Those using the personal-recommendation engine are viewing 20 percent more channels and 40 percent more shows than before.”
That said, Cox also warns against “Frankenbundles,” which Nolfe defines as a combination of “this and that.”
“[It’s] getting items from here and there to pull together a video package as opposed to what a provider like Cox can easily give a customer,” Nolfe explained. “It might end up in the same price range, but typically there is less content and a bumpy integration between platforms. Like Frankenstein, he’s alive, but it isn’t exactly ideal.”
Full Channel offers some a la carte channels, including several premium networks and a Portuguese-language option, Maaia said, but is otherwise bound, as are the other providers, by bundling configurations through the networks. But Santoro said consumers’ ability to watch TV where and when they want has supplanted the discussion about a la carte programming. Advances in digital video recorders have made it possible to store more content and record and view it from different locations in the home at different times, he said.
“Verizon offers a FiOS Quantum TV service that provides enough storage capacity for up to 200 hours of HD movies and shows,” he said. “And our customers can now watch recorded programming in one room, pause it, and pick it up in another room.”
Verizon’s fiber-optic network, FiOS, also now provides a mobile app, which enables consumers to watch live programming on more than 160 channels in the home and more than 60 outside the home on almost any smartphone, tablet or laptop. The app also enables customers to choose from among 70,000 on-demand titles, he said.
At Cox, video-package options for the price-sensitive customer, as well as those with specialized interests, are available, Nolfe said.
“TV Economy,” for instance, gives access to more than 155 channels but without the premium sports channels. “Flex Watch” is basic cable that includes HBO and STARZ and broadband, “a good option for broadband-heavy, online-content viewers who like premium shows like HBO’s ‘Newsroom,’ ” she said.
The two packages also include TV Everywhere (which includes more than 80 TV network apps) and On Demand shows, she added.
Maaia, Santoro and Nolfe said the concept of “TV Everywhere” will continue to evolve in 2015 and beyond. Verizon will release a new “over-the-top” mobile TV application sometime in mid-2015, Santoro said, declining to provide details.
“We are reaching an undeniable tipping point in how consumers expect media to be delivered,” Maaia said. “Full Channel will continue to develop nonlinear offerings such as TV Everywhere and invest in critical infrastructure to ensure that our communications network continues to deliver the very best experience no matter how future content is delivered.”
But Nolfe acknowledged the challenge the industry faces as it works to meet consumer demand on multiple platforms.
“The overwhelming majority of our customers prefer to access video content via digital-cable bundles for convenience, service quality and value of the total package,” she said, “but cable broadband provides the fastest and most reliable connection to online content for those who choose to access it.” •

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