Five Signs It’s Time to Transform Your TV Service

TV service providers across the globe face a major decision: Is 2018 the year to embark on a business transformation journey and move over from legacy TV systems to Cloud TV?
Despite the clear monetary and business benefits to be gained from stemming the cord-cutting tide, many of these companies are still on the fence about launching an IP-based next-gen TV service. Perhaps the leap to the cloud seems too complex. Whatever the reasons, there are five key signs it’s time to move to a cloud-shaped TV service. If you relate to any of them, then it’s time to start seriously planning your organization’s Cloud TV transformation.

1. I’m flying blind

Many of the service providers we talk to say their traditional broadcast systems simply don’t provide sufficient data and information on how viewers are interacting with their TV service. Because there’s no consolidated, standardized view of how content is performing, or how services are actually being used across the entire user base, planning is made more difficult. Trial and error is often the name of the game. This contrasts massively with the born in the cloud entrants who have masses of granular data at their fingertips in easy to use dashboards.

2. My platform is keeping my marketing team down

Many pay-TV subscribers access their TV services on legacy STBs connected to inflexible backend platforms and headend hardware that is even older. This turns every change, upgrade, feature, or introduction of a new business model into a lengthy and expensive process, leaving little room for error. It also leaves little room for marketing teams to experiment and test out new products to best meet their customers’ needs before going big and rolling it out to their entire user base.
Moving to a cloud-based platform breaks this sluggish cycle and ushers in an agile, flexible world of real-time opportunities

3. My operational costs are sky high

Traditional TV service environments can be rather like a Frankenstein’s monster of IT and broadcast tech. These environments are frequently comprised of two or even three different TV ecosystems – a result of previous M&As or new product/service rollouts. Maintaining these disparate legacy systems is time-consuming and expensive on a number of fronts. Plus there is also the problem of a shrinking pool of tech talent with these legacy skills.
Moving to a cloud-based infrastructure immediately reduces the OPEX significantly.

4. Content is becoming a bigger part of my total spending

The growing popularity of streaming services and skinny bundles has brought an increase in competition, leading to higher demand for content and content rights, resulting in higher content costs. In some cases, content costs can eat away more than 50% of an operator’s ARPU.

5. I need to expand my product catalog to target different viewer segments

For years, service providers have had just one tool for targeting specific user segments, creating a number of content bundles for certain demographics, like sports and kids packages. With more OTT services enticing viewers with their wide range of on-demand content and more user-targeted recommendations, TV service providers now know they need a lot more firepower in their personalization armory.

What can I do?

If any of the complaints above ring true to you and your business, it’s time to transition your TV service over to IP and start your Cloud TV transformation journey. And, the good news is, today’s cloud TV and IPTV technologies are faster and easier to implement than ever before. With a robust Cloud TV platform, operators have more control over their service and receive more data and analytics, making the possibilities seem endless.
What really sets these platforms apart from their traditional counterparts is their flexibility. With upgradeable software as opposed to aging hardware, operators can easily modify their service to adapt to any business model or strategy, making things like setting up skinny bundles, content packages, and experimenting with new products and features just a few clicks away. Throw in granular analytic capabilities, and operators can see exactly what and how viewers are watching, letting them make more data-driven decisions and changes to their service.
So, the answer is clear. With the right cloud-based TV platform in place, pay-TV operators can offer a more dynamic and personalized service, while easily building and spinning off new TV products to enrich their offering. Add in the cost-effectiveness of the public cloud, and operators can focus more on investing in premium content and marketing efforts, bringing their viewers the best TV viewing experience possible.
Ready to start your Cloud TV transformation journey? You can learn more about the fundamentals of what makes a smart, robust, and scalable TV service with our whitepaper, The Four Pillars of Next Generation TV.