真正的流媒体之战：SVOD vs. vMVPD

Disney and Apple debuted their streaming 服务s at the end of 2019, and the mainstream media has 意识到流媒体的存在战斗还在继续. 媒体只能报道 things like this as a horse race, so publications spit out 文章 about Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max，《百家乐软件》等等都在贝尔蒙特的跑道上狂奔.

是的, there will be winners and losers—PlayStation Vue is no longer with us, and more will follow—but that's not what's truly interesting here. How people get their entertainment is changing, and that's a bigger story than whether or not Peacock can outperform CBS All Access.

The heat is entirely with subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) 服务s. 当虚拟 multichannel video programming distributors （vmvpd）得到任何关注, it's because they have once again raised prices (as Hulu did in November 2019 when its live 服务s jumped from $45 to $55 per month).

vmvpd臃肿且昂贵，而且消费者不喜欢它们. They don't provide a tidy and economical alternative to 付费电视. 随着家庭削减开支, 承担更多的svod, 避开vmvpd, it raises the question of whether or not live TV has a future.

According to Brett Sappington, senior research director and principle analyst for Parks Associates美国有70%的宽带接入.S. households currently subscribe to at least one SVOD，但仅限于此 10%的用户订阅vMVPD. ” an SVOD 服务, 你 not really replacing either your antenna or your traditional 付费电视服务. You are just adding content on at a low price. 你在添加内容你 already getting from 付费电视 or your antenna," he says. “有了虚拟的MVPD，你就 effectively replacing your 付费电视服务, and that's a bigger decision. There are people that are happy with what they have. They love content, they love their channels, and they don't plan to change. So, one is a replacement and one is complementary."

从更严格的角度来看， MoffettNathanson senior analyst Craig Moffett recently declared "活着就是死. “客户不放弃线性电视，转向vmvpd吗. 他们是 simply leaving live TV altogether," he writes, noting that 15 million U.S. 家庭已经放弃了直播服务.

有线电视和卫星电视提供商看到了 record cancellations, and few cord-cutters are 将这些服务替换为vmvpd. “对于一个 time, vMVPDs looked like the answer for media companies preparing for the cord-cutting 莫菲特写道. But, "in the most fundamental way, they preserve the very bundles of programming that created so much frustration 对于这么多的顾客来说. 肯定的是, when vMVPDs were being priced far below cost, there was naturally a willingness to switch. But now that prices are being reset to more reasonable levels, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised 对vmvpd的需求正在枯竭."

The appeal of live sports streaming is strong, Moffett notes, and live news also has a following. 但现场娱乐将面临严酷的新现实. When it comes to entertainment, many people prefer on-demand options and aren't willing to shell out for 付费电视 alternatives. Having fewer viewers means smaller budgets for program creation.

It also means fewer commercial breaks for advertisers, something that's already causing panic. Advertisers are desperate to get their messages in front of streamers, but the most attractive customers pay for ad-free options. The only way forward is for advertisers to work with vMVPDs to create more appealingly priced subscription options that include all the same 付费频道的观众目前可以收看付费电视. 如果家庭可以得到溢价直播 bundles for less than vMVPDs currently charge, 他们可能会愿意签约. 的服务 would survive, advertisers would get a reliable outlet for their commercials, and consumers would get a deal. 对我来说，这听起来是三赢, and it might be the only option to keep streamers from saying goodbye to live entertainment for good.