@ NAB: Connected TVs disrupt traditional broadcast and cable models

LAS VEGAS – As connected TVs become more common, business models are going to have to change so that all points along the value chain that bring added value to the ecosystem can thrive, according to a Monday panel at the National Association of Broadcasters 2011 NAB Show.
“All experiences are becoming ‘appi-fied,’ said Comcast Corp.’s Richard Buchanan, VP, video services at Comcast Media Center. People are demanding that they can access their content over a number of devices, and cable and broadcast TV companies have to adapt to that change, panelists agreed.
“Consumers want to be able to find, record and interact with friends around content,” Buchanan said. Comcast’s Xfinity brand has launched an application that allows its customers to record cable content via a smartphone app, and port that content to whatever screen the end user chooses. “We’re embracing disruption, but a business model is needed.”
While that business model only works with on-demand content that Comcast already owns rights to the content, models like the one Time Warner Co. is trying to implement are causing waves in the industry. Time Warner has introduced an application that allows its end users to port content to different screens, including iPads, but Time Warner is suingViacom, which says it does not have the right to offer the content that way.
While the panel mostly was concerned with disruptiveness among cable subscriptions and broadcasters that depend on advertising revenues to offer free TV, the impact of mobile is disrupting how people consume video. “Cord nevers” are young consumers who have never had a traditional cable subscription and are used to consuming video over-the-top, panelists said. Cord nevers are changing usage patterns, but companies can adapt to earn their loyalty, said Susan Panico, senior director of the PlayStation Network.
People who grew up forgoing traditional cable subscriptions in favor of Internet video will want to be able to port their content to various screens, and probably go with low-end subscription bundles once they get out of college and live on their own, Buchanan noted.