Have Cable Subscribers Got The Stomach For TV Everywhere Fees?
Will Cable subscribers pay even more?
Many of the big Cable and satellite tv networks are looking to charge for watching their already paid for content online, but will hard pressed subscribers pay? Well, according to a study by The Diffusion Group (TDG), viewers like the idea of tv everywhere, they are even willing to pay extra for it!
The cable and satellite companies are all looking to charge a little extra for that convenience of watching tv online, on your games console or on your mobile. Although some such as Comcast and Sky rolled it out as a free, extra for subscribers, Sky is now charging for its services and the cable companies look set to follow. It looks like they are all looking to Hulu which is transmorphing from a free service to a subscription based deal, but the online extra packages are unproven in the marketplace and the networks may first offer them for free to gather interest.
This seems even more likely now that the study from TDG research is confirming that consumers are willing to pay for TV Everywhere content. The study found that about 60% of adult broadband users (about 95 million consumers) are “enthusiastic” about TV Everywhere services, while 39% (about 54 million) are willing to pay at least $5 extra per month for such content.
The study also found that among those consumers willing to pay, about one-third of them would pay up to $10 per month and one-fifth would still be interested at a price of more than $15 per month. This suggests that any service provider that offers TV Everywhere for free could be leaving money on the table (unless, that is, they roll the cost of the service into rate increases elsewhere).
At this point though, TV streaming that can be viewed Everywhere is still in its early stages. Once the content and quality rise, providers that have made content freely available may charge a fee to access content, TDG said. This is all uncannily coming true, offer tv online streams for free. Reel in the viewers then put a modest charge on the service. All eyes will surely be looking at Hulu Plus. And if the service is a success, expect free tv to start dissapearing from the internet.
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