According to Mark Greenberg, head of EPIX TV, "the path forward for TV is to embrace change, competition, as well as
consumer choice and control in order to be relevant to new generations." Truth be told, the entertainment industry, just like every other business, and across every environment, follows Darwinism and the evolution of change. Eat or be eaten, adapt to survive or perish. By following that concept, Greenberg recognizes and adheres to that understanding for survival.
And while there may be no timetable for the pace of change in the entertainment environment, that change is evident. We see it today as alternative, over the top platforms are taking root, and cable companies are concerned that households are moving past the cable cord for the internet to consume media. "The mantra of the digital age has been 'adapt or die,' Greenberg said.
But the real mantra should be 'disrupt or be disrupted' and now is the
time to 'get back into the disruption business.'” For both content and distributors that means figuring out how to make TV Everywhere a complete solution, regardless of the device. It also means more flexible pricing models for consumers at price points that keep customers subscribed.
Consumers are drawn to these newer disruptive models for entertainment for a number of reasons. One, that You Tube channels and videos are attracting niche interests. Videos on X box games or how to instruction attract a younger demo. Two, the online social communities, like Facebook and Twitter, can promote and recommend interesting content and enable a viral demand to view. Three, the rise of mobile platforms, tablets and smartphones, bring the content to us, rather than making us go to a TV room to view. And Four, the growth of over the top (OTT) devices, like Xbox, Roku, Apple TV and others bring more than just broadcast and cable networks to the TV, they bring internet access to a larger inventory of short and long form programming, on demand and at our fingertips.
So Mark Greenberg is right, "the path forward for TV is to embrace change, competition, as well as
consumer choice and control in order to be relevant to new generations." It is a classic rule of nature as old as Charles Darwin himself. In that struggle to survive, one must adapt to change. As Herbert Spencer, Darwin's contemporary, once said, it is "the survival of the fittest".
