Washington, D.C.
(April 30, 2007) --
DIRECTV says it will offer 100 national High-Definition channels
by year's end.
But cable TV operators seem oddly unconcerned, although most of them now provide only 10 or 15 national high-def networks.
"Right now we have all the high-def channels that anybody cares about," Comcast President Steve Burke said last week in a conference call with Wall Street analysts.
Burke added that the quality of the high-def channels is more important than the quantity.
His comments echo the remarks of other cable executives. Although they say they will soon expand their high-def capacities via new technologies such as Switched Digital Video, they add that it's not necessary to match DIRECTV channel for channel.
However, the cable industry may be underestimating DIRECTV's high-def plans at its own peril. As philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Let me explain.
But cable TV operators seem oddly unconcerned, although most of them now provide only 10 or 15 national high-def networks.
"Right now we have all the high-def channels that anybody cares about," Comcast President Steve Burke said last week in a conference call with Wall Street analysts.
Burke added that the quality of the high-def channels is more important than the quantity.
His comments echo the remarks of other cable executives. Although they say they will soon expand their high-def capacities via new technologies such as Switched Digital Video, they add that it's not necessary to match DIRECTV channel for channel.
However, the cable industry may be underestimating DIRECTV's high-def plans at its own peril. As philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Let me explain.
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In 1994, DIRECTV launched the first mini-satellite dish, soon offering roughly 200 channels, three times more than cable. At the time, skeptics, including many in the cable industry, said the satellite TV service had little chance of success.
A familiar refrain: No one cared about all those niche channels; no one cared about sports packages; no cared about Pay Per View; and no one will care about DIRECTV. Quality mattered more than quantity, they said.
However, DIRECTV (and EchoStar) soon generated millions of subscribers (particularly after the launch of a local channel service.)
The number one reason: It had more channels.
Before you try to dispute that, I know this for a fact. In the mid-1990s, I was working for a satellite TV publishing company and I commissioned four major Nielsen studies of the satellite TV audience.
In each study, done over a four-year period, the number one reason people said they purchased a satellite dish was that it had more channels than cable.
It wasn't the NFL Sunday Ticket, as some believed. It was all about having more choice.
Although few dish owners watched all 200 channels, they wanted more choice in their programming lineups, something cable was not providing.
So now here we are again. DIRECTV is threatening to offer far more high-def channels than cable -- and cable executives seem to think it won't matter. (At least they suggest publicly that it won't matter.)
If this continues, we could soon be watching a repeat from the 1990s.
Comment on this article!
Click TVPredictions.com to see today's Swanni Sez.
© TVPredictions.com
____________________________________________
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In 1994, DIRECTV launched the first mini-satellite dish, soon offering roughly 200 channels, three times more than cable. At the time, skeptics, including many in the cable industry, said the satellite TV service had little chance of success.
A familiar refrain: No one cared about all those niche channels; no one cared about sports packages; no cared about Pay Per View; and no one will care about DIRECTV. Quality mattered more than quantity, they said.
However, DIRECTV (and EchoStar) soon generated millions of subscribers (particularly after the launch of a local channel service.)
The number one reason: It had more channels.
Before you try to dispute that, I know this for a fact. In the mid-1990s, I was working for a satellite TV publishing company and I commissioned four major Nielsen studies of the satellite TV audience.
In each study, done over a four-year period, the number one reason people said they purchased a satellite dish was that it had more channels than cable.
It wasn't the NFL Sunday Ticket, as some believed. It was all about having more choice.
Although few dish owners watched all 200 channels, they wanted more choice in their programming lineups, something cable was not providing.
So now here we are again. DIRECTV is threatening to offer far more high-def channels than cable -- and cable executives seem to think it won't matter. (At least they suggest publicly that it won't matter.)
If this continues, we could soon be watching a repeat from the 1990s.
Comment on this article!
Click TVPredictions.com to see today's Swanni Sez.
© TVPredictions.com
____________________________________________
Advertisement
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Phillip Swann is
president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in
dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox
News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The
Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The
Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at
swann@tvpredictions.com
or at 703-505-3064.
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