Cable Television faces serious growth threats and growth opportunities
Samsung recently asked me to give a presentation to their CEO, senior executives and others in the company, worldwide, about how new tech like AI and 5G are transforming the various industries they operate in, including wireless. Asking top industry experts for their opinion on the new and changing industry direction is smart on their part.
This is something every company should also do at a time like today. This is a way to gain a wider and deeper perspective and a competitive advantage moving forward. That’s why speaking with a variety of top thought leaders and hearing different points of view can provide a better understanding that is needed for growth moving forward.
Thanks to new technology like AI, 5G, 6G, Chatbot, IoT and so much more, everything is rapidly changing and coalescing. This is both a challenge and growth opportunity for senior executives who need to wrap their minds around these changes before the growth wave moves ahead without them.
When it comes to new technology customers have expectations and they want to be surprised as well. So, you must meet their expectations, plus you must surprise and delight them.
Over the past several decades, I have helped senior executives understand changes with briefings and informal lunches in many industries including cable television and wireless.
Here are a few important highlights which I believe will help.
Cable TV faces serious growth opportunities and challenges
First, let us pull the camera back and gain a longer-term, historical perspective. The same challenges, risks and growth opportunities are faced by every company in every industry, worldwide.
Second, company leaders need to understand the direction of the changing growth wave. Understanding the next growth curve that faces your competitors is key to your long-term success.
Third, things are moving very quickly, so there is no time to waste.
The NAB Show gets the leaders of the entire space together to discuss and share their thoughts on the changing growth wave, giving every competitor equal chance to stay on track.
This is not a matter of secrecy and competition, rather it is a way for leadership of all competitors to share, teach and learn from each other.
5G and AI are two key areas every company needs to focus on
The changes we see zig and zag going forward. That’s why it is important for every company to remain flexible and shift with the changing growth wave.
I see many new and different technologies entering the marketplace. That being said, I also see how AI and 5G are two core technologies which every company needs to master.
Fortunately, we are still in the very early days of these new technologies. So, now is the time to experiment.
AI and 5G are the center of the universe for companies and industries
Today, Cable TV is facing a significant growth challenge and opportunity.
We need to understand the change wave that is reshaping everything. There is a lifespan to every growth curve. First, it rises, then it crests, and finally it falls.
As this happens every company must have a replacement product or service, or they will ultimately fail in the long term.
Let me give you an example. Consider Motorola, Blackberry and so many other past leaders who zigged when the marketplace zagged, ultimately sending them to the back of the pack.
Every CEO needs to understand the changing growth wave
Every CEO and CMO of every company want to stay with the growth curve and that is the challenge. Only some will be successful.
That’s why it is important every executive knows where the industry is heading. And it is important to understand where your products and services lie on the growth wave as well.
So, where is your company? Your industry? Be honest with yourself.
You must understand where you have been, know where you are today and where you will be tomorrow based on your current trajectory.
Looking forward, will you be growing or falling on the growth curve?
That’s why it is important every company build and grow several different growth waves. Each will be at a different place on the growth curve.
Example, telephone has been growing for more than a century. Then after the year 2000, things started to change. Today, as telephone continues to shrink, wireless and broadband continue to rise.
Another example, basic cable TV was on the growth side for decades until around twenty years ago. The Internet and new pay TV competitors changed everything.
That is when the cable TV growth wave crested and started falling. That’s when they started getting into other businesses like VoIP telephone, Internet, wireless and more.
Cable TV industry faces new pressures and must transform
Recent reports show how cable TV companies continues to lose market share. Today, they have less than 50 percent market share. In fact, many smaller companies are hurting even worse.
In fact, they have begun to get out of cable TV with less than 10 percent market share. They will focus on broadband, streaming and whatever is new going forward.
Like it or not, these are all signs of a major transformational event which is occurring right now.
AI can be a growth opportunity for Cable Television companies
Artificial Intelligence is playing an increasing role in every industry. Cable Television is one of many industries where AI will play a transformative role going forward.
So, is getting out of cable TV what will eventually happen with the larger companies like Comcast Xfinity, Charter Spectrum, Altice, Cox and others?
That is the fear and the challenge cable TV faces today.
And this threat is not new. That’s why these companies started getting into new segments like Internet, telephone using VoIP, wireless, streaming and more.
Today, cable TV and broadband continue to lose market share
Today, cable TV continues, it is on the decline. That’s why they shifted to broadband years ago as their lead service. That worked for quite a few years, but now more and new competition and new technology is entering that space as well.
Today, FWA or Fixed Wireless Access is a new technology that offers wireless broadband service. It can be offered by wireless companies like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
So, if that is the case, why can’t cable TV providers offer FWA wireless broadband as well?
If they can, the next hurdle is the price. You see FWA saves customers significant money. So, is cable TV ready to move into this space?
What is the cable TV strategy going forward?
The question is, what is the next cable TV strategy? I see a few options.
Cable TV could offer their own FWA mobile broadband service. Of course, to be successful they would have to reduce their prices to be competitive.
So, you can see, while both make sense from a competitive angle, from a financial angle, not so much.
Any way you slice it, the cable television companies must do something to remain competitive.
Of course, there is a third alternative. The sticky-bundle. I have written about the way cable TV used this sticky bundle successfully.
Yesterday, the sticky bundle solutions reduced rapid loss and bought them time. It could do so again.
So, a solution could be to refresh the sticky-bundle, which would include a number of new services.
Cable TV could re-create the next sticky-bundle and AI
The television and entertainment industry are rapidly growing and changing.
That being said, cable TV companies at the last mile are facing new challenges from new competition, lower prices and new technology.
While cable television is a long-lived industry and will not just fold up shop and go home, it does face real and serious challenges.
Some will make it through the current transformation. Others will struggle. And still others will fail and ultimately be acquired.
It all depends on the strategy they take moving forward.
Sticky-bundle, AI and FWA broadband are solutions to cable TV problems
My take is the sticky bundle worked before, and it can work again. FWA home broadband is another solution, as well as a threat. Plus, new and confusing new technology called AI is another threat and growth opportunity.
Who will lead in the world of cable TV and pay TV tomorrow? That’s the real question. Will it be the older cable television industry or new pay TV competitors and wireless broadband providers?
Expect some cable TV companies will continue to ride the growth wave more successfully than others.
This is the significant and urgent challenge cable TV faces today. While there is so much more to discuss like private wireless, as yet another growth opportunity, I hope you get the point I am making here. Your future is in your hands.
It all depends on the strategy you choose. Choose wisely.
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