CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Reports of traditional broadcast TV’s death may have been exaggerated according to a new report from simulation software company Concentric. The company has released “The Future of Streaming Video” report that forecasts how the TV industry will evolve as OTT continues to rise. One of the key findings in the report is that while cord cutting is a growing factor, bundling of OTT with other broadcast services is the more popular option over the next few years.
While subscribers who cut the cord to simply go with OTT are expected to grow by 17 percent by 2024, the bundling of OTT and broadcast is expected to increase by 56 percent over the same period. The report predicts that it will take a successful integration of live content by OTT providers for cord cutting to become widespread; if accomplished, Concentric says likely one in four people would cut the cord by 2024.
Bundling of OTT with cable, broadcast and satellite will continue to be the popular choice for consumers because no single provider has delivered the optimal customer experience.
As for what is driving consumers to certain bundling options, the report says price is the number one factor, followed by variety of content and user experience.
“The way we consume content is changing,” said Dejan Duzevik, chief product officer and solution architect for media & entertainment at Concentric. “OTT providers like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu are disrupting the space, generating buzz about the death of traditional models like cable and broadcast. But consumers won’t be cutting the cord as soon as we might think. … Instead, we will see major changes across providers as cable, broadcast, OTT and satellite evolve to meet consumer demands.”
Other findings from the report show that while cable will remain the top choice for consumers, changes in pricing options and variety of options are recommended to avoid a decline of 2 percent in its total number of subscribers. Satellite, meanwhile, is becoming obsolete with the emergence of 5G and looks to decline by 8 percent over the next five years.
Visit www.concentricmarket.com for the full report.
