American consumers may finally have a solution to all their complaints and objections of having to pay for obscure TV channels they never watch.
There is a lot of pressure being put on programmers that have relied on the 500-channel pay-TV universe to carry their less-popular niche networks by whittled-down packages. Apple is planning to put forth an online debt service in 2015 with about 25 channels. Dish’s Sling TV, unveiled in February, offers about 20 channels for US$20 a month. Cable companies are pushing mini bundles with Web access, local channels and HBO for as low as US$40 a month the first year to keep customers from fleeing.
According to Jason Hirschhorn, chief executive officer of media newsletter REDEF, in a statement on Monday release:
“Consumers want lower price points. That means the packages are smaller and ultimately that puts pressureon content producers such as Viacom Inc. and Discovery Communications Inc. These companies have bundles of channels, maybe a bunch of which you don’t watch.”
As per analysis, according to a report last year by Nielsen, the average U.S. home receives 189 TV channels but only watches 17 of them.
Cable companies are already struggling to keep TV subscribers, as more Americans watch video online on services like Netflix Inc. The rise of skinny bundles may lead even more people to abandon large TV packages. That poses a threat to networks that aren’t included in the new online TV services, said Paul Sweeney, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Apple is in talks with broadcasters ABC, CBS and Fox to provide Web-based TV later this year, according to people familiar with the effort. Viacom is also negotiating with Apple, said one person. So is Discovery, although NBC isn’t included, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier.
