Co-opetition of TV broadcasters in online video markets : a winning strategy?

This article focuses on TV broadcasters adopting co-opetition strategies for launching online video services. It is claimed that the emergence of online video platforms like YouTube and Netflix is driving TV broadcasters to collaborate with their closest competitors to reduce costs and reach the necessary scale in the global marketplace. The article sheds light on online video platforms that were developed following a co-opetition strategy (Hulu and YouView). The establishment of joint ventures in online video, however, has been scrutinised by competition authorities which fear that collaboration between close competitors lessens rivalry and reduces consumer choice. Therefore, several co-opetition projects (among others BBC’s Kangaroo and Germany’s Gold) have been prohibited by competition authorities

(De)convergence in TV: a comparative analysis of the development of Smart TV

Against the backdrop of media convergence, Smart TVs are developing rapidly in large parts of the world. Smart TV refers to the integration of broadband Internet and social media features into TV sets. From a media business perspective, the proliferation of Smart TV services may put pressure on the market structure of the TV landscape, and urge for new business models in order to capture the dynamics of media convergence. By means of a comparative analysis in four European markets (Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), the development of Smart TV is sketched in terms of viewing patterns, business models and standardization. The conclusion is that national TV markets are evolving quite differently, so that service providers must adapt their marketing strategies to reflect local market conditions. Hence, the success of Smart TV ultimately depends on the local package of value-added services and the amount of strategic partnerships with content owners, TV broadcasters and pay-TV operators

If you won't pay them, buy them: Merger mania in distribution and content markets

Structural changes in TV markets are resulting in carriage disputes that have spread from the United States to Europe. A carriage dispute refers to a disagreement between a pay-TV operator and a broadcaster over the right to ‘carry’ a broadcaster’s channel. TV broadcasters are demanding ever increasing payments from pay-TV operators that complain about lower-profit margins due to spiralling programming costs. This article discusses vertical mergers between distributors and broadcasters as a possible way to reduce retransmission payments and to secure cheap and privileged access to programming in today’s hypercompetitive video markets

Challenging content exclusivity in network industries: the case of digital broadcasting

Interacting with network externalities and switching costs, exclusive dealings for premium contents in digital broadcasting markets allow incumbents to deny rivals critical mass and profitable market entry. A downstream company that acquires the exclusive rights to high-quality programming in the upstream market may obtain a competitive advantage over its rivals which suffer from negative externalities. Instead of fostering competition and innovation, exclusive licensing serves as an effective entry-deterrent strategy in order to preserve market power and to leverage monopolies. Although exclusivity for premium content has long been considered the only way for guaranteeing the remuneration of the vast investments in content production and platform infrastructure, this paper challenges the profitability of this exclusivity strategy in network industries. The paper questions the traditional economic assumptions underlying exclusivity of content and argues that the increasing emergence of multi-sided platforms in the broadcasting industry creates incentives for right holders to multi-home rather than single-home their contents. --Business model,digital broadcasting,exclusivity,bundling,shared access,innovation

Mergers and acquisitions in TV production, aggregation and distribution: challenges for competition, industrial and media policy

This paper focuses on the recent wave of M&A activity, both vertical and horizontal in TV production, aggregation and distribution industries, and discusses the implications of M&A activity for competition, industrial and media policymaking. Moreover, it aspires to set a forward-looking perspective on the regulation of M&A in the TV industry. It is argued that while EU competition policy has difficulties to fully grasp anti-competitive effects resulting from vertical M&A activity in particular, industrial and media-specific policies dealing with the creation of an economically and culturally sustainable, European broadcasting and distribution sector are virtually absent from national and European policy agendas. It is particular in the latter two domains of policymaking that policy action is necessary

Challenges of digital innovations : a set-top box based approach

The chapter analyses the challenges of digital technology for television audience measurement systems. First, the current state of audience measurement in Belgium is described. In the Belgian case, the traditional television audience measurement system is contested by small broadcasters and challenged by the opportunities that the emergence of digital television and, more specifically, the widespread diffusion of set-top boxes provide. Second, three major challenges for traditional measurement techniques are analysed. This section deals with people’s changing viewing habits, for example on-demand and time-shifted viewing, the provision of more accurate data by set-top boxes, and the increasing interests of platform operators acting as gatekeepers to access to this data. In the final section, conclusions are made