Determinants of Demand for Cable TV Services in the Era of Internet Communication Technologies

The rise of the Internet Communication Technologies (ICTs), such as video-on-demand (VOD) services, is expected to have substantial impact on the entertainment industry. In particular, cable TV is likely to be one of the media channels most affected by the expansion and development of these new technologies. Given these changes and the fact that the signs of the cable TV viewership decline are starting to show, it is important to investigate the potential of the loss of competitive advantage of television programming services. Most of the existing research on the topic focuses on the relationship between TV viewing and Internet penetration. However, economic evidence on the relationship between cable TV services and such ICTs as VOD services is limited. In this paper, we empirically investigate the determinants of the demand for cable TV services in the era of ICTs. Our main objective is to identify the relationship between cable TV and VOD substitute services at the aggregate national level as well as identify some of the mechanisms behind this relationship. We conduct an observational study using a sample of the U.S. quarterly national-level data for years 2008-2015. The data on the number of Time Warner Cable (TWC) subscribers is used as a proxy for cable TV consumption, while the data on the number of Netflix subscribers is used as a proxy for VOD services consumption. We estimate several specifications of the OLS regressions controlling for own price, availability of related goods (VOD services, mobile phones, Internet), and income. Our results contribute to the existing literature on the economics of entertainment by presenting evidence of substitution between the VOD services and cable TV services. More specifically, our estimates for the elasticity between TV and VOD services, obtained using first-differences OLS estimation, suggest that a 1 percent increase in the number of Netflix subscribers is associated with a 0.123 percent decrease in the number of TWC subscribers. This implies that providers are likely to benefit from focusing on offering extra value to consumers rather than trying to gain additional revenue through advertising. The results of the analysis also highlight that higher prices for cable TV services are likely to be interpreted by consumers as a signal for quality. More specifically, our estimates suggest that a 1 percent increase in own price is associated with 0.38 percent increase in the number of TWC subscribers. This implies that offering greater choice of programs and higher subscription prices might be the pricing strategy to increase revenues. These findings provide a better understanding of the mechanisms behind consumer choice and decision-making processes. In turn, this understanding elicits valuable insights into television programming services revenue sustainability, and the competition of the providers of these services with the providers of the VOD services

Cutting the Cord: Where Are All the Generation Y Viewers Going?

The purpose of this study was to better understand Generation Y's consumption of video content, with a focus on alternative viewing devices. Research was conducted into the technological, economic, and social factors that have contributed to Generation Y's shift from a traditional television-viewing paradigm to alternative viewing practices and devices. The study was conducted in 2015, through an Internet survey, and included 199 participants between the ages of 21-35. Results from the research paint a clear picture of the variables that have influenced Generation Y viewing behavior, as well as feature specific data that indicate viewer preference around viewing devices and allegiances to leading content delivery portals.M.S., Television Management -- Drexel University, 201

The Dynamics of the Media and Contents Industries: A Synthesis

Chapters 1 and 2 of this report deal with the evolution of the media and contents sector towards a digital world, documenting the evolution of the strategy of the legacy players from a defensive behaviour to a more proactive one, striking deals with new entrants, creating new products online. They also explore the disruptions and underline the positive changes that took place recently and the weaving of new interactions between legacy players and new entrants. Chapter 3 focuses on core economic issues such as the costs structure and the mechanisms of value creation. Chapter 4 describes the business models, highlighting some of the innovative ones adapted to a digital world. Chapter 5 concentrates on other trends such as patterns of consumption and production and follows the evolution of the labour force. Chapter 6 deals with infrastructure as the enabler of the transformation has undergone and takes a closer look at the recent changes that have affected the telecom-IT ecosystem in order to identify the trends that are most likely to impact the content sector in the future. Chapters 7 and 8 introduce regulatory and policy issues. Chapter 7 relates to the funding of creation and the protection of creation (copyright as asset management) and innovation. Chapter 8 concentrates on the protection of consumers and competition.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

Clash of the Titans : impact of convergence and divergence on digital media

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-153).This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.In last decade, the world was bewildered by the dazzling array of choices and offerings of digital technology. While digital convergence has created new possibilities in digital media, it has also created great uncertainty, fragmentation and threats to traditional media. This blossoming of innovations, as I will examine in this thesis, originates not only from the conversion of analog media into the digital domain, but more from a convergence of industries which results in a clash of technologies and cultures. This thesis explores the phenomenon of digital convergence and divergence and examines their impact on digital media. The questions this thesis seeks to answer are: What exactly is digital convergence? Is digital technology a kind of unifying glue as some may claim, or is it turning out to be a catalyst for greater differentiation? What kinds of dynamics will emerge when traditional industries play in each other's familiar turfs? And what kinds of strategies should digital media producers adopt in response? Observations seem to point towards a trend of initial chaos, greater divergence and severe technological fragmentation in the market. However, in that light, the results of this study suggest that collaboration between industry players to establish common standards, as well as the production of content to fit the locality, context and the consumption experience will be the keys to success in the world of digital convergence.by William Chee-Leong Lee.S.M.M.O.T

The Internet of Things Will Thrive by 2025

This report is the latest research report in a sustained effort throughout 2014 by the Pew Research Center Internet Project to mark the 25th anniversary of the creation of the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-LeeThis current report is an analysis of opinions about the likely expansion of the Internet of Things (sometimes called the Cloud of Things), a catchall phrase for the array of devices, appliances, vehicles, wearable material, and sensor-laden parts of the environment that connect to each other and feed data back and forth. It covers the over 1,600 responses that were offered specifically about our question about where the Internet of Things would stand by the year 2025. The report is the next in a series of eight Pew Research and Elon University analyses to be issued this year in which experts will share their expectations about the future of such things as privacy, cybersecurity, and net neutrality. It includes some of the best and most provocative of the predictions survey respondents made when specifically asked to share their views about the evolution of embedded and wearable computing and the Internet of Things

Digital Inclusion Across the Americas and Caribbean

This research brings together digital inequality scholars from across the Americas and Caribbean to examine efforts to tackle digital inequality in Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, the United States, and Canada. As the case studies show, governmental policy has an important role to play in reducing digital disparities, particularly for potential users in rural or remote areas, as well as populations with great economic disparities. We find that public policy can effectively reduce access gaps when it combines the trifecta of network, device, and skill provision, especially through educational institutions. We also note, that urban populations have benefitted from digital inclusion strategies to a greater degree. This underscores that, no matter the national context, rural-urban digital inequality (and often associated economic inequality) is resistant to change. Even when access is provided, potential users may not find it affordable, lack skills, and/or see no benefit in adoption. We see the greatest potential for future digital inclusion in two related approaches: 1) initiatives that connect with hard-to-reach, remote, and rural communities outside urban cores and 2) initiatives that learn from communities about how best to provide digital resources while respecting their diversely situated contexts, while meeting social, economic and political needs

Structured film-viewing preferences and practices : a quantitative analysis of hierarchies in screen and content selection amongst young people in Flanders

Aleit Veenstra, Philippe Meers and Daniel Biltereyst address a specific segment of a typical small-market audience—Flemish youth film viewers. Their study “Structured Film Viewing Preferences and Practices: A Quantitative Analysis of Hierarchies in Screen and Content Selection among Young People in Flanders” deals with one of the symptomatic problems of the era of convergent audiences, the multiplication of screens used for domestic consumption of audiovisual content. Building an intriguing empirical design, Veenstra and her colleagues aim to identify patterns of screen selection and their relation to the perceived value of Hollywood, European and domestic Flemish films. Their conclusion is that there are well-articulated hierarchies applied by the audience members in the selection of both film titles and reception screens and that, to put it simply, in the case of screens, size matters