As we all know, the video / television services market is one in great transition across global markets. An arena traditionally dominated by broadcasters and pay-TV providers has seen the entry of several new players, each looking for their share of the consumer’s entertainment budget. Multiscreen viewing has quickly moved from an interesting novelty to mainstream consumption. 50% of U.S. tablet owners in broadband homes indicate that they are watching an increasing amount of video on their tablets over the past year. One-third of U.S. smartphone owners state the same. Operators in Europe and other developed markets are noticing similar changes in consumption as the penetration of connected devices increases.

So, in an environment with increasing competition, market players will work to emphasize differentiators in order to stand apart from the other offerings in their market. Multiscreen is an important step. Services today are delivering content to consumers at times, in locations, and on devices that are convenient to consumers. Interestingly, the consumers most interested in multiscreen services are often those subscribers that have the greatest passion for video. Thus, players that do not offer access to video on multiple devices risks losing some of their best customers to competitors that do offer such services.

While an important step, multiscreen is merely the first step. Several other factors will also define which services are most attractive to consumers, including:

• User interface
• Speed of matching consumers to interesting content
• Access to compelling or exclusive content
• Business model
• Bundling of multiscreen with other services
• Creating an engaging viewing experience for the consumer that others cannot easily match

We will discuss these topics at the TV Leaders Summit, an executive-level gathering of TV service industry leaders to assess leading trends in the industry. Some of the topics will include trends in multiscreen video, content rights, second screen experiences, and the future of the TV services marketplace.

I look forward to seeing you there.

From the article, "TV Leaders Summit – Video’s Future: Survival of the Fittest" by Brett Sappington.

Next: TV Leaders Summit: Making Money in Multiscreen – An Interview with Brett Sappington

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