The Pay TV Reality Check

As we enter 2022, it’s time to take stock of the business of delivering video content to consumers.  Consumers have more options than ever to enjoy video content. Media companies, of all sizes, are investing billions of dollars in content production. More devices are being used to view content. The number streaming subscriptions continues to rise. However, despite widely reported cord cutting traditional Pay TV services are far from dead.

• Digital Pay TV in Eastern Europe is growing.  The number of digital subscribers in 2010 was 25.5M with the number of subscribers projected to grow to 78M by 2023. (source: Statista)
• The number of Pay TV subscribers in Latin America is projected to reach 65M by 2026.. (source: Statista)
• While the number of households subscribing to Pay TV, In the U.S., is shrinking there will still be ~ 60M subscribers by 2024. (source: MoffettNathanson)

The reality is that perceived value is driving the consumer’s adoption or rejection of video service providers.

What do cable, satellite and telco TV providers need to do to provide value? Pay TV has been successful thanks to the ability of service providers to successfully curate and aggregate channels into an affordable bundle. If operators can bring the right mix of content to their subscribers there is an opportunity for unique differentiation versus streaming providers.

While streaming provides deliver a wider range of TV and movie programs, with increasing attention to live sports, the availability of content of unique interest to a local audience is missing. Local content can be defined as news, ethnic, community, game show, religious or soap opera programming. This type of content is currently the dominant driver of Pay TV subscriptions in the United States.

It is of higher interest for Pay TV providers to add streaming services to their video service mix than it is for streaming providers to add local broadcast services. Pay TV providers who can blend traditional linear channel line-ups with streaming services, offer their subscribers the best of both worlds. The consumer benefits from the traditional TV experience while easily navigating between the local, national, sports or entertainment content, regardless of source.

Simplifying the complexity of delivering both linear and streaming content to the TV is what Amino does. Powered by AminoOS to streamline integrations with delivery technologies, TV service middleware and content protection platforms, our Android TV or RDK enabled set-top boxes deliver the both the reliability and range of content expected by consumers. After all, their reality is a TV service that provides all the content they want to watch when they want to watch it.

Learn more about our managed streaming devices.