Print Industry Disruption Drivers Not There for TV, Telcos

Some might argue that among the primary reasons for the disruption of print industry business models were high fixed cost, high debt loads and inability to satisfy new end user demands for content formats. Some might think those same issues will affect the video subscription business. Some might say such issues will have more implications for communications service providers than cable TV and other video distributors. Traditional TV disruption

The argument that the same "high fixed cost, high debt load, new application" pressures will afflict the subscription TV business, as the Internet has reshaped the print industry, is an argument some of us might consider too glib. Execs don't agree.

Time Warner Cable executives are right to point out that people really do want to watch professionally-produced video. TWC executives also are almost certainly right that abandonment of video subscriptions specifically for the purpose of consuming professional content online is not happening, much. Little evidence of major cord cutting

But high debt and high fixed cost, as well as an inability to keep up with new application creation, does sound more like the telecom industry, some might argue. That is not to say the need for broadband and Internet access ever "goes away." But some might argue that the better historical fit is "print industry and telecom," rather than "print industry and TV."

Execs Don't Agree on Whether A La Carte Means Lower Consumer Prices

“Don’t sell products into a platform where you end up with less money than when you were selling it to the previous buyers," says Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes. That bit of advice suggests why consumers might not save much money, if any, as professionally-produced video and movie content distribution shifts from current channels to new channels. Cordcutting Hasn’t Arrived

Over-the-top programming could help moderate rising programming costs in the future, Cablevision Systems chief operating officer Tom Rutledge has said. Lower content costs?

69% of Businesses Say Blogging Increased Leads

The 2011 HubSpot ROI Study, conducted by two MBA students from MIT and Babson, found that 69 percent of businesses surveyed attributed their lead generation success to blogging.

The study also found that 75 percent of businesses believed search engine optimization was a primary factor. Social media came in third with 47 percent, just a hair shy of triple that of paid search.

69% of Businesses Attribute Blogging to Increased Leads

15X Growth for Social Commerce by 2015

Social shopping is a bit like "mobile money," including a number of distinct market segments, value chains and ecosystems. Some would say daily deals are "social shopping," while others might include the other ways social mechanisms shape and then drive retail purchasing.

In the former case, the social element is the end user demand process, where a certain number of people might have to agree to buy something before the deal is triggered. In other cases the social element further extends to social distribution of the offers, as when people let others know an offer is available on Facebook or another network.

Some might also include within the social shopping or social commerce realm restaurant and other consumer ratings features and services, such as Google Places or Yelp. Others are looking at ways mobile payment services will incorporate social elements and socially-created content into merchandising efforts.

Dish Network Could Partner With, or Buy Sprint or Clearwire

Dish Network Corp. , the second- largest U.S. satellite-TV provider, may consider partnering with or buying a wireless carrier such as Sprint Nextel Corp. or Clearwire Corp., Chief Executive Officer Joseph Clayton said.

“We’ll look at partnerships, acquisitions, all of the above,” Clayton said. Asked whether that could include buying or partnering with Clearwire or Sprint, he said: “Could be.”

Dish needs a wireless network to utilize the spectrum it has acquired in its deals for DBSD North America Inc. and Terrestar Networks Inc. announced this year. Dish filed for U.S. government permission to offer mobile high-speed Internet service to its customers last month. Government approval would allow the company to build a network.

Dish ’Could’ Acquire Wireless Company, CEO Says

Dish’s Blockbuster Movie Pass is no Netflix Killer

Though there had been some speculation that Dish Network might position its Blockbuster assets in a way that challenges Netflix, Dish Network has taken more of a "TV Everywhere" approach, unveiling Blockbuster Movie Pass as a complement to its linear video service.

That might happen some day, but for the moment, Movie Pass is strictly tied to the satellite operator’s subscription video service.

Movie Pass will provide its subscribers access to more than 100,000 DVD titles and 4,000 streaming titles at a cost of $10 a month. The DVD by mail service is included.

Dish subscribers with IP-connected set-top boxes will be able to stream movies and TV shows from the Blockbuster MoviePass service along with their on-demand offerings.

That said, Dish Network could be in position to introduce a wider program at some point, as its content library is extensive, and compares most closely with that of Netflix DVD by mail offerings. 

Dish’s Blockbuster Movie Pass is no Netflix killer

Blockbuster Movie Pass Illustrates Streaming Business Model

For those of you wondering about the business model for streaming video services, the launch of Dish Network's new Blockbuster Movie Pass suggests one important fact. The actual revenue model for an online streaming service might be another business with a significant revenue stream. In the case of Dish Network, the business model is subscribers to linear video services.

As with the case of "TV Everywhere" services offered by cable subscribers, the revenue model actually is that the service provider attracts and keeps customers for a linear video service.

The Blockbuster streaming content adds Starz, Epix, Sony Movie Channel, and Encore to Dish’s on demand library that includes Fox, TBS, TNT, Discovery, AMC, CN, DIY, HGTV, FOOD and History. The combined content can be streamed only from DishNetwork.com. Blockbuster also will integrate DVD by mail offers as well.

The service launches next Saturday, October 1,2011, and is available for $10 a month only for Dish Network subscribers.

This service requires a Dish Network satellite TV package and is not available separately, in other words. New subscribers who buy Dish’s "Top 200" programming package for $39.99 a month will get Blockbuster Movie Pass for free for one year.

The Blockbuster service will be billed with the Dish Network TV service, on one bill.

Blockbuster Movie Pass