New York—The increasing popularity of subscription video on demand services, over-the-top offerings and a trend toward thinner video packaging suggest that the existing content model will have to be altered, according to a top media analyst, but that will come at the expense of exorbitant rate hikes for programmers.
“The video bundle will have to be pruned,” said Bank of America Merrill Lynch media analyst Jessica Reif Cohen at the Next TV Summit Wednesday. “The days of double-digit affiliate fee increases are over. I think there will be price roll backs or channels will be dropped.”
In a sweeping conversation with Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable editorial director Mark Robichaux, Reif Cohen said that although so-called skinny bundles are all the rage – smaller video packages from Sling TV and Verizon FiOS have grabbed headlines over the past six months – they aren’t economical enough to make a dent in the traditional programming model. Reif Cohen echoed what other analysts have said regarding smaller video packages – they’re too expensive when stacked up against the traditional offerings from cable and satellite services.
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