Skip to main content

More Status Quo in U.S. Pay-TV Marketplace

Cable TV is advancing as Wall Street bid up cable company stocks 61 percent in the past year, far above the 12 percent gain in the broad market. That's why cable MSOs are under the oversight microscope, once again.

Most conspicuously, the Federal Communications Commission voted last month to require states and cities to act within 90 days on franchise applications, in a victory for telephone companies wishing to launch rival pay-TV services. The FCC action is among a half dozen setbacks for cable, according to Kagan Research.

"Cable has been playing defense for over a decade and generally fared well, when taking the long view," notes John Mansell, senior analyst at Kagan Research. "Certainly cable has incurred its fair share of setbacks at the FCC and in court cases, but it has been spared what would be large reversals on other issues."

Mansell notes cable has beaten back efforts to require carriage of all digital broadcast TV channels (known as multicast must-carry), is not forced to offer basic/expanded basic channels individually (a la carte), is not subject to FCC indecency rules, does not operate under rate regulation and is not hamstrung by broadband access mandates (net neutrality).

Cable has also notched one big win. "Policymakers are taking a light-touch approach in regulating cable's phone services," says Mansell. "We also think that many aspects of telco franchising successes over time will redound to cable's benefit at franchise renewal time."

I find it interesting to note that three of the four regulatory and litigation 'successes' that Kagan lists for the cable MSOs are clearly anti-consumer measures -- i.e. raising service tier prices, while offering no 'a la carte' option -- that are intended to maintain the competitive status quo in the U.S. pay-TV marketplace.

Popular posts from this blog

Industrial Cloud Computing Apps Gain Momentum

In the manufacturing industry, cloud computing can help leaders improve their production efficiency by providing them with real-time data about their operations. This has gained the attention of the C-suite. Total forecast Industrial Cloud platform revenue in manufacturing will surpass $300 billion by 2033 with a CAGR of 22.57 percent, driven by solution providers enhancing platform interoperability while expanding partner ecosystems for application development. ABI Research found the cloud computing manufacturing market will grow over the next decade due to the adoption of new architectural frameworks that enhance data extraction and interoperability for manufacturers looking to maximize utility from their data. Industrial Cloud Computing Market Development "Historically, manufacturers have built out their infrastructure to include expensive data housing in the form of on-premises servers. The large initial upfront cost of purchasing, setting up, and maintaining these servers is

Credit Scoring Service Spending will Reach $44B

Credit scoring is a method that lenders use to predict the probability a borrower or counter-party will default on loans, or incur additional charges for repayment -- also known as measuring credit worthiness. The method is a key tool in making credit affordable for individuals and businesses. It links credit products to risk potential, connecting borrowers to secondary capital markets and increasing the amount of funds available. This securing process establishes risk predictability dependent on a number of factors, determined by financial indicators and other publicly available information reported by the credit bureaus. Credit Score Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, they now forecast credit scoring services will grow by 67 percent to $44 billion by 2028. Juniper anticipates that emerging markets will experience the greatest growth -- projecting the African & Middle Eastern region to grow by 117 percent over the forecast period

Demand for Quantum Computing as a Service

The enterprise demand for quantum computing is still in its early stages, growing slowly. As the technology becomes more usable, we may see demand evolve beyond scientific applications. The global quantum computing market is forecast to grow from $1.1 billion in 2022 to $7.6 billion in 2027, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). That's a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48.1 percent. The forecast includes base Quantum Computing as a Service, as well as enabling and adjacent Quantum Computing as a Service. However, this updated forecast is considerably lower than IDC's previous quantum computing forecast, which was published in 2021, due to lower demand globally. Quantum Computing Market Development In the interim, customer spend for quantum computing has been negatively impacted by several factors, including: slower than expected advances in quantum hardware development, which have delayed potential return on inve