U.S. households subscribing to a broadband service, but not pay TV, will reach 54 million by 2025, up from 38 million last year, TDG emailed Wednesday. With nine in 10 U.S. households expected to use residential broadband in four years, video creators and distributors have “lucrative growth opportunities,” said analyst Paul Hockenbury. TDG defines broadband-only (BBO) customers as early mainstream adopters influenced by price, benefits and available support. BBOs watch 28 hours of TV a week, about 10% less than broadband households subscribing to a legacy or over-the-top pay-TV service, he said. Sixty percent of BBO TV time is streaming video, mostly subscription VOD, said the analyst. The three most popular SVOD apps for BBO households are Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu. Two-thirds of BBOs watch free ad-supported streaming video on TV, led by YouTube at 76%; Pluto at 36%. Over 33% of BBOs use a terrestrial TV antenna and watch more than 12 hours of broadcast TV weekly.
The FCC Wireline Bureau suspended the Oct. 27 reply deadline for Mediacom's petition for FCC preemption of a conduit network arrangement between Google Fiber and West Des Moines, Iowa, (see 2110080031) while the cable ISP and municipality pursue a private resolution, per an order in Tuesday's Daily Digest.
ViacomCBS and Altice's carriage agreement includes rights to access the programmer's streaming services, ViacomCBS said Monday. It said it and Altice will continue to collaborate on addressable media and advanced advertising.
Cable and telecom stocks are hurting from growing investor sentiment telcos' expansion into fiber and cable's play in wireless will force incumbents to cut pricing amid shrinking subscriber numbers, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett wrote Thursday. He said telco fiber overbuilding of cable systems will go from about 30% of U.S. homes now to 55% over the next decade or so. He said Charter's new mobile service family plan makes it more competitive than any telco, and it and Comcast are competing nationally with mobile carriers. Telcos' strategy is riskier because payback on their fiber investments becomes more difficult if prices or penetration falls or if deployment costs rise, said Moffett.
ViacomCBS and nonfungible token company Recur will partner to create a platform where individuals can buy, collect and trade NFTs as digital products and collectibles across the content company's portfolio of franchises and IP, said ViacomCBS Wednesday. It said the NFT platform will launch in spring.
Regional sports network AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain joins fuboTV's lineup through a carriage agreement announced Tuesday. This includes Utah Jazz, Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Rockies regional games.
Altice violated its Keep Americans Connected pledge when it shut off service to small businesses over supposed nonpayment of monthly service charges in the first half of 2020, a Bronx, New York, barbershop owner said in a suit seeking class-action status (in Pacer, docket 21-cv-05540) Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Central Islip, New York. It said Altice charging a $180 “illegal 'ransom' fee” to restart service was a violation of New York consumer protection law. Altice emailed Thursday that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic it “has been committed to providing support and relief to our customers, including providing free broadband services to students, suspending disconnections for households and businesses during the height of the pandemic as part of the 'Keep Americans Connected Pledge,' ... While we have not yet received the complaint, we will respond appropriately upon receipt.”
MSG Networks signed a multiyear renewal of its distribution agreement with Verizon, ensuring Fios subscribers have access to MSG and its live games through their Fios TV packages and the MSG Go streaming platform, MSG said Wednesday.
Video cord cutting could mean a $33.6 billion drop in annual revenue for U.S. multichannel services 2021-25, with DBS and telcos having the steepest decline, S&P's Kagan said Wednesday. It's projecting subscription revenue for MVPDs going from $91.1 billion this year to $64.7 billion in 2025. It said cable revenue should stay relatively stable.
Cox Communications closed on buying the commercial services segment of fiber infrastructure provider Segra, it said Tuesday. Cox incoming President Mark Greatrex said the deal means an expanded geographical presence, more network capacity and more business services. Cox said the Segra brand will continue as a stand-alone Cox business. The deal was announced in April (see 2104270042).