Familiarity and comfort go a
long way in TV land.
The proposed YouTube TV --
another digital service of TV networks -- feels a lot like other
virtual multiple video program distributors services in the market -- and
then some.
YouTube TV is coming to market
with a no-contract $35 a month package that includes all major broadcast
networks and big name cable channels. Will that be enough to shift -- in a
big way -- those TV consumers who have higher priced traditional pay TV
providers?
YouTube TV made deals with all
the major TV companies which also have broadcast network -- NBCUniversal,
Disney-ABC Television, 21st Century Fox, and CBS Corp., as well as those
companies associated big cable TV networks: ESPN, USA Network, Fox News and
FX.
Big viewing TV networks are a
big marketing deal -- and, in much of the same way, they also know about
YouTube, which has been around now for a better part 15 years.
From a major TV network group
perspective, Disney-ABC Television can get comfort that sports network ESPN
is included in YouTube TV basic package. For a long time, analysts worried
-- or predicted -- that sports networks such as ESPN could be in
trouble in the future world of digital “virtual” services providing TV
networks.
“[The deal means] a very smart
player, at least initially, believes the broadcaster argument that their
content can anchor skinny bundles, to the exclusion of other networks,”
writes Barton Crockett, media analyst for FBR & Co. “It says these
conglomerates can use their broadcast and sports networks to support their
other networks.
“
On the outs -- at least at the
moment -- pure-play cable network groups such as Discovery
Communications, Time Warner, Scripps Interactive Networks, for example --
that haven’t made deals with YouTube TV.
Barclays media analyst Kannan
Venkateshwar writes: “The hurdle here is likely to be the unwillingness of
media companies to offer a small enough bundle to fit within Google’s $35/month
price.”
Still, all this should make
consumers feel generally good about the YouTube package -- which also
includes unlimited DVR storage, as well as including original programming
from YouTube Red.
And there is the awareness
factor of YouTube: Google says its video platform now delivers 1 billion
hours of content being watched per day. The question is: Can the value of
that brand name -- mostly offering short-form somewhat less professional
video for many -- translate to longer premium TV programming?
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