INTX 2015: Skinny Bundles Could Rationalize Video

CHICAGO – Former Fox chief operating officer and current Chernin Group chairman and CEO Perter Chernin said the advent of so-called “skinny bundles” won’t destroy the traditional bundle of video channels, but it will force programmers to rethink how they package their channels.

At the opening general session of INTX: The Internet & Television Expo Tuesday, Chernin said that while the industry is seeing an explosion in distribution with the increase in over-the-top and IP video offerings, it doesn’t mean that the traditional video bundle will collapse.

Instead, Chernin said the bundle will “rationalize in some ways. We’re going to see a tremendous explosion of new alternatives, largely IP delivered. Netflix is an extraordinary company; YouTube is an explosion of young demos. That will ultimately force the bundle to justify itself, which is not the worst thing in the world.”