Smart Pipe

We hear about cord cutting a lot, but the future holds a very different picture. While cable providers have primarily been about TV content delivery in the past, the critical aspect of TV delivery is the actual pipe they own that provides the service. We like to call this the smart pipe, and the cable operators are busy stepping into delivery of the "internet of things" services adding a lot of new value to their offerings. Home security and automation can all be tied together with this pipe which might include a special gateway for data storage and management. Wireless service in the house will all originate through this pipe, whether it's delivering cable content or other content services. The infrastructure that the cable company provides becomes a key part of every household, whether they watch much TV or not. Lucky for the cable providers, the numbers say we are watching even more video these days! (Notice I said video and not TV...on any device video is provided by a 'pipe'.)

North American Cable Operators Visit Korea

A contingent of North American Cable Operators visited Alticast 's Korean HeadQuarters last week and shared their views on the future of cable television. While they were there they took a field trip to visit Korean operators to see some technology in action. Here the executives were viewing Alticast's Downloadable and Exchangeable support hardware that handles the security services for over 5M users. 

They also were able to see native and HTML5 systems with features including companion device integrations and application stores. The highlight of the trip may have been a fun night out with traditional Korean Barbecue.

Will US Cable Operators Embrace Netflix?

Two weeks ago Netflix stock went up over 20 points on the news FierceCable passed on that they are in talks with cable operators including Comcast and Suddenlink. This week they shot up further on news their subscriber base is growing rapidly. Netflix already has a cozy relationship with Cablevision, and has a more tightly coupled integration with Liberty Global and Virgin Media through Tivo.

Up to this point, some operators have gone so far as to create their own competitive VOD service. Operators have made clear choices to either embrace Netflix or treat them as a competitor. Netflix and the operators know that either way there are many users with both services and as reported in the original article in the Wall Street Journal, Netflix would "love to reduce the friction to the end consumer."