Anyone Got a Peace Pipe?

By The PHANTOM –

Anyone Got a Peace Pipe?

As this haunt sees it, there has always been an undercurrent of tension in our industry between the various stakeholders, the operators, programmers, construction guys, and equipment suppliers. A bit of tension is not necessarily a bad thing. Heck, families seem to thrive for many generations and I don’t think there has ever been one without some amount of tension. Disagreements, if held in place, can result in progress. But if not held in check they can damage folks, and industries, badly.

Being a worrier-first-class, this old haunt sometimes worries that we are approaching that situation in the industry. And it’s all over that evil necessity of life, money. Yep, we all chase the coin of the realm; kinda hard to live without it. What with new opportunities for program distribution there seems to be a plethora of tension breaking out over who gets to do what with what programs. More to the point, who gets money for what. Fortunately our industry still enjoys a good position in the data business and data delivery is necessary regardless of how the video money flows. But there is money in video too, and that is where we got our start. Can it still be good business?

Speaking of good business, Alex is a top engineer in the industry, from the last generation of engineers. He was walking around a show back in the early satellite days and ran into this guy selling, believe it or not, a satellite antenna made of wood framing with a reflector of chicken wire. I ain’t kidding you. He asked the guy if he really thought it would work, and the response he got was amazingly honest: “Listen fella, there are people walking around this show with money in their pockets, and my aim is to transfer some of that money to my pocket.” Needless to say, this guy was a one-show wonder.

Which brings me to a side topic, gullibility. Sorry, but I think you know that all the world is not out to make this globe the finest place in the universe just for you. Most of us figure that out by the time we are trusted with a full-time job. But I once ran into a lady of, um, significant age, who was honored to have gotten a letter from a certain presidential candidate, asking her for money with which to conduct his campaign for a second term. She thought that she was obligated to respond with a contribution because the President had personally written her a letter. I tried to explain to her that no, he hadn’t sent her a personal letter, despite her name at the top and his signature at the bottom. She never did figure that one out. I wonder to this day how to get it across to someone like her what the world is like out there.

So, what does the future look like? Hey, if I knew that would I still be this little phantom haunting the dusty shelves at the very back of the Library? But I do have opinions, worth every cent you paid for them (and remember, you paid nothing). One thing of which I’m certain, or as certain as you can get these days, is that program bundles are going to get skinnier and skinnier. It just makes sense; when you have competition among your suppliers, you get what you want; negotiation is not necessary. And I assume you’ve noticed that there is competition these days in the video program supply business. You may have noticed that the subscriber wants his video cheaper. One way to oblige is to give the subscriber a smaller bundle of programs, all of the stuff they’re interested in and nothing more.

Problem is, of course, that no two subscribers want exactly the same set of programs. I might want the serious sports like wrestling. The tension comes from Mrs. Phantom, who wants refined stuff like concerts and plays. Tension in the family. So how do you as my video supplier satisfy us? Maybe a sports tier and a highfalutin tier? Where do I go to get such tiers? My data supplier (you)? Another supplier who sends programs as data over your cable? I know how I’ll choose, I’ll go with the one who gives me what I want for the least amount of money. Makes for tension between you and the other guy. Then you both have tension with the program suppliers, because you want to pay them less. Well, serves you right, what with the tension between Mrs. Phantom and me. Anyone got a peace pipe?

You never know when The “masked” Phantom is standing right beside you. Sometimes he is in a Zoom meeting or virtual SCTE training session with you. He may be hanging with the suits and other times with the front liners. But be assured, The Phantom knows all and, most importantly, The Phantom sees all!

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