A look inside the endless debate between traditional and digital media.
For more information write to Joshua Gardner, Vice President & North American Lead, Global Energy Practice, MSL | joshua.gardner@mslgroup.com
3. 3
Every company wants to be on every platform. It
wasn’t that long ago when people watched TV on
TV; today’s users – including their kids – are
streaming on tablets, phones, and computers,
watching Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and everything in
between, and using Sling TV and Alexa and all sorts
of means to project content across different rooms
and on the road.
The cross-merger between AT&T and Time Warner
– a merger of content, tech, and platform – means
AT&T can use its reach to offer sweeter deals to its
own customers. Imagine the email offer to bundle
HBO, 4GB of wireless data, DirecTV Now, and
Digital Life home security for just $249 a month.
Deals like that could persuade would-be cord
cutters to pay AT&T for its content the way Netflix
has persuaded more than 100 million consumers
to subscribe to its platform.
AT&T can also better target ads based on what you
watch on TV and view online. It has a gigantic data
analytics business, including a marketing service
for corporate customers; it also has about 100
million wireless subscribers who use their phones
for everything. Imagine a future in which AT&T
knows you watch basketball on TNT, read Bleacher
Report on your phone, bought tickets to “Space
Jam 2”, and notices you're near a Dick's Sporting
Goods. Suddenly you have a sponsored notification
for a coupon on your phone.
The possibilities are endless, but they speak to an
ever-growing demand by consumers to get what
they want, when they want – even if that means
greater consolidation and fewer actual choices.
We're living in an on-demand world and most
companies have responded accordingly. Comcast
bought NBCUniversal from General Electric in
2009, which gave the cable company USA
Network, CNBC, and NBC, among others. Comcast
also recently announced a bidding war for 21st
Nearly 55% of news reading
happens via mobile device.