The TV Industry is Broken
The consumer suffers
Remember in the early 2000s when Netflix overtook Blockbuster and cable cutting was a dream about to come true? But when does that dream become a reality? It’s been 20 years since the DVD first service popped up and 14 years since they went digital, but cable and movie box offices still loom over everything.
Most of you do not know, but I worked in the OTT (Over the Top) industry for over 5 years. This is the industry that encapsulates everything around digital-first video delivery. The same industry that Netflix pioneered. I was a Product Manager for a company that made apps and services for this industry. I worked with broadcasters, big and small, helping them launch on a digital platform. We built applications for Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, iOS, Android, and many more platforms. But over the 5+ years in the trenches, I only noticed sameness.
It’s the same crap that flooded the industry for the 50+ years prior. This industry puts the broadcaster and advertisers first and the consumer last. The only thing that has changed is the delivery method of their content and the locations in which you can consume.
The promise of digital-first TV and movies meant choice – cutting the shackles that the coax cable forced you to be in. Netflix started to pave the way to this and still does. They have some of the best and most diverse content out there. Sure, their prices keep going up and their user experience changes every time you log in, but they are sticking to their original promise. As for everyone else – the XY&Z +++ services, they are just trying to bring their cable and movie offerings that already exist to your smart device or TV, rather than rethink it from scratch.
When cable was the only option – you were forced to get the provider in your area, you then had to get their base bundle, then add package on top of package, until you got what you wanted. This was fairly expensive, going upwards of $100 - $200 USD monthly. Now you get to pick your poisons a little more selectively, or so they let you think. You start with Netflix, then add x, then y, and maybe z – but you cancel this one every few months. After building your bundle, you are up to near $100 again. But now you are not only paying for content, but you are also providing data to them.
When it comes to data – there is the basic bundle of analytics. It generally comprises of location, content watched, and how you got to said content. Some companies keep it at just that, due to privacy guidelines, but most do not. They are hungry for it. Since most of these accounts are accessed on devices like your phone or computer, they use cookies to build profiles by doing assumptions based on location, time of day, and watching habits. Cable also had analytics, but they couldn’t connect the dots, they just had some general information.
Then there is the biggest issue in my mind – ads. This always boggled my brain when I watched cable in the 90s. We paid for a service and also got served ads? There is so much wrong with that. Anyway, this is an option in the OTT space too. You can get free content with ads – great! But what about those services that ask you to pay and still target you with ads. Sometimes it is not how you think either. They might not show you ads while watching, but they target you on your mobile device, on a website, or on another streaming service. They make you pay with your attention and time, even though you already pay with your dollars.
Lastly, there are movies. This is coupled with TV because the networks creating these services own or are owned by the producers of most movies. During the most extreme waves of COVID, there seemed to be a moment where the movie industry was going to shift to digital equality, meaning releasing to the box office and TV simultaneously. As a person that never intends to go to a movie theater again, this was amazing. Then the COVID waves in the western world settled a bit and movies are back to normal. This is not ok for so many reasons.
I know this sounded like a soapbox and whew, it felt like it. I’m relieved, aren’t you? Anyway, my point for all of this is that the world, specifically the TV and movie world, needs to be more accessible. We have the best technology we have ever had. We can deliver content to people all around the world, but we are still being slimy about it. We are holding onto an antiquated model that should have died years ago. We are putting the consumer last, when all they do is pay. They pay with their money, time, attention, and data.
What I propose is simple:
Every service, TV and movies, go digital-first
If the service is paid – the user pays with their money, nothing else
If the service is free – the user pays by watching ads
Most services should offer both options to democratize access
The data collected should be ethical and used to make the experience better, not to store this data to target you in other ways
Movies should be released everywhere at the same time. At home is a bit more expensive to account for multiple watchers, in theaters is the same old (expensive) cost
Stop spinning up new services for no reason. We don’t need another +++ service
By going this route the consumer will get what they want – fair and moral access to content. The creators of shows and films will also get what they need – money and exposure. Digital TV doesn’t need to be broken, there is so much potential, but first, we need to stop trying to relive the past.