The Year TV Everywhere Goes Prime Time

An increasing number of consumers are abandoning cable for popular over-the-top (OTT) services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video and Hulu. In fact, the 13 largest pay-TV providers—including companies like Time Warner, Comcast and DirecTV—lost about 150,000 video subscribers during the second quarter of the 2015 fiscal year, according to research from the Leichtman Research Group.

While OTT providers have taken the lion’s share of subscribers away from pay-TV providers, the more-traditional providers aren’t going down without a fight. Rather, they are aggressively launching their very own online streaming services that allow customers to access their favorite content anywhere, anytime on any Internet-enabled device. All a user has to do to watch on-demand or live TV is plug in his or her pay-TV credentials and start streaming—it’s as easy as that.

The start of 2015 has witnessed a slew of new TV Everywhere developments from both broadcast networks and premium channels. Here’s a look at the latest happenings in TV Everywhere:

  1. Comcast’s Xfinity Streampix: To prevent its cable customers from cutting the cord, Comcast is launching a new service to complement its existing Xfinity on Demand and TV Everywhere initiatives.Dubbed Xfinity Streampix, this new service will give customers access to full seasons of TV shows from Disney-ABC, NBC Universal, Sony and Warner Bros. What’s more, users will be able to stream movies and kids programs.
  2. Dish Network’s Sling TV: In an effort to appeal to younger generations, Dish Network is releasing Sling TV. As a cost-effective OTT service, Sling TV will allow users to access a number of Disney and Turner Network channels for as little as $20 a month. “Millennials don’t choose paid TV,” said Roger Lynch, CEO of Sling TV LLC, in an interview with CNET at this year’s CES. “So we designed a service based on how millennials consume content, with no contracts. You can come and go as you please.”
  3. HBO: HBO has been on the cutting edge of the TV Everywhere phenomenon, first launching its app HBO Go, which offers subscribers access to current HBO programming on their mobile devices. The popular cable television network is now rumored to be launching a stand-alone HBO subscription streaming service that would not require users to have a pay-TV package.

If these past few months are any indication of what’s to come, 2015 will certainly be the year TV Everywhere goes prime time.