What is Wrong With Me?
By The Phantom
Gee, seems I can’t quit haunting this subject. Is it overconfidence, or fear? I know not. Anyway, I can’t get off the subject of defining who we are. It’s a strategic question, the answer to which guides us as we plot our course ahead in a really crowded field. You’ve heard the old saw that railroads in this country lost out because they saw themselves as operators of engines and cars rolling on the steel rails they install. Had they seen themselves as transporters of goods and people, they would have embraced highways and what they could offer, and would be lots bigger today. I don’t know if this is a fair characterization or not. But it is an oft-cited caution of short-sightedness. And I suffer from (maybe) irrational fear for our beloved industry.
There is a lot of reason for optimism, on both the video and data fronts. It’s been interesting even if it makes me dizzy (and it does), to see the number of video aggregators entering the low-margin video business. Each has its own approach and assures us that it will be the model everyone will follow someday. Most will eventually drop out of the business, but a few will continue to grow. That’s the way it is with all new technologies and businesses. In fact, we seem to have a duopoly forming right now, with two providers said to control around 70% of the business. We seem to be doing a fairly good job of embracing this new competition at the moment; better to have people form the opinion that you need cable to get good streaming video, than to fight the trend and loose.
We are not in the business of installing and operating coaxial cable and fiber optics plant, along with headends and hubs to feed that plant. Those are the tools of our trade. Today. Some of the advances coming out of CableLabs and our vendors show that we are thinking the right way. When we see our companies partnering with streaming vendors to provide a better experience, this gives us hope for the future. And I quickly say that I don’t know of anyone managing their data network in a way that disadvantages other streaming providers; may not be the law at this moment (I get dizzy trying to follow that too), but it is good practice if we are in the business of supplying the best entertainment and connectivity for our subscribers.
Yeah, maybe that’s the business we’re in: to supply the best entertainment and connectivity. I’ve said before, and it keeps happening, that people ask me if the cable companies are about to fold because so many people are dropping TV service. No, the cable companies by-and-large are in their best shape ever. Folks are surprised to learn that they are getting Internet from the same people who bring them TV, and that data is the more profitable business. Many don’t know how data gets to their home, or who provides it.
Do we need to do a better job of explaining data and how our customers get it? I dunno, but I suspect we might need to spend time thinking about that. We have much, much better technology for delivering it than what Ma has traditionally operated. She does have new technology which arguably beats what we are using now, but that’s because she had to take a leap: what served her well for a century has run out of steam. Our technology hasn’t peaked, but some day it will because, to cite another time-worn saying, the only constant is change. And to change in the right direction requires that we correctly define our business.
The Phantom
the.phantom@youwontfindmeanywhere.com
You never know when The Phantom is standing right beside you. Sometimes he is in a meeting with you or walking the floor at your favorite cable show. Sometimes he’s hanging with the suits and other times with the front liners. But be assured, The Phantom sees all, The Phantom knows all and, most importantly, The Phantom tells all.
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