[opendtv] Re: Punching Above Its Weight, Upstart Netflix Pokes at HBO - NYTimes.com

  • From: Albert Manfredi <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 18:08:35 -0500

Craig Birkmaier wrote:

> It is already easy to get OTT services to your TV. TW
> would need to do one of two things.
>
> 1. Add the ability to access OTT services to their STBs via
> a broadband connection; they do not have the bandwidth on
> the video side of their business to handle the bandwidth
> requirements of Netflix,

Yes, Craig, that's exactly what I said. And they most likely have the 
bandwidth, because they already have their VOD service from servers within 
their network. They would probably only need more server capacity. Remember, 
this is VOD. What Jphn Shutt said rang a bell. At least some cable systems 
already use IP for their VOD service (e.g. for sure Verizon FiOS does), so this 
would be a fairly straightforward upgrade. As to being easy to get OTT sites to 
your TV, that depends. If you're talking about the handful of sites the CE 
vendors graciously allow you to browse, perhaps. Otherwise, it's impossible, 
unless you do what I did or something similar (e.g. Chromecast).

> Nope!  You do not need a MVPD subscription to access ANY of
> the OTT sites you mentioned.

That's what I said, Craig! You do not need MVPD subscriptions to get to OTT 
sites. You claimed you did. That train has left the station. The genie can't be 
put back in the bottle.

> Amazon Prime is a subscription service. It costs $79/yr.
> CBS offers many programs through Prime, as they do through
> Netflix.

That's what I said, Craig! The networks are *not* dealing exclusively with 
MVPDs to distribute their stuff online. They use their own OTT FOTI sites, and 
they use free or by subscription third party OTT sites which do NOT require any 
MVPD username/password. This is the case today. Tomorrow, it can only be "more 
so." Yes, even for ESPN, Craig. It's just a matter of time.

> I whole heatedly agree that fees associated with peering
> arrangements shoul be applied equally to all heavy bandwidth
> users. Many OTT services are already paying "fees" to the
> CDNs, that provide edge servers that largely eliminate the
> heavy traffic through the WANs.

Thank you for understanding. So, as long as these arrangements are made in a 
fair and non-discriminatory way, the Internet portion of the MVPD networks 
would still be neutral. By any definition of the word neutral.

> We've been through this many times. It IS NOT foolish to use
> the business model that maximizes revenues for both the
> content and distribution congloms.

Things change, Craig. It's certainly foolish for the content owners to be 
obsessing over the best interests of the technical solution they depended on 
yesterday. The content owners are ultimately the ones that hold the cards. 
You're saying that Henry Ford should have been concerned with the survival of 
local blacksmiths. Instead, Henry Ford should at best have hoped, for their own 
good, that some of these blacksmiths retrained themselves into becoming car 
mechanics. Ditto with the content owners wrt MVPD walled gardens. Content 
owners that don't compete over the Internet will lose out soon enough.

And no, Craig, it's not a matter of waiting until 1/2 the households have 
dropped their premium tiers. That's not how transitions work. You have to see 
the trends and make them work for you, BEFORE THE COMPETITION pulls the rug 
from under your feet.

Bert                                       
 
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