Verizon Exec In Charge Of TV Services Admits She Cut The Cord
from the I-don't-really-like-the-product-I-sell dept
When the executive in charge of your company's traditional television services publicly admits she's a cord cutter who no longer watches traditional TV, it might be time to reconsider the future of pay television. By and large most cable and broadcast executives have responded to the cord cutting phenomenon by either denying it exists, claiming it's the domain of losers, or insisting it's a fad that will magically evaporate once more Millennials procreate. But at a recent TV industry conference, Verizon's director of FiOS TV services, admitted she's been a cord cutter for a while:"Maitreyi Krishnaswamy, director of FiOS TV, has a confession, and it doesn't bode well for the future of Verizon's fixed-line video business. "I've pretty much cut the cord," Krishnaswamy admitted on a panel at the TV of Tomorrow event in New York City. Krishnaswamy is bullish on Verizon's new Go90 mobile video service, but she readily acknowledges there are major challenges in the traditional pay-TV business.For all its faults, Verizon executives have been considerably more progressive than its industry counterparts when it comes to cord cutting, at times being actually able to admit a massive change is on the wind. And Verizon has responded by being one of the only companies to embrace more flexible TV channel lineups, including its recent launch of a so-called skinny bundle that takes the most expensive part of the cable lineup (sports, ESPN) and places it outside of the core channel offering. Such a move was TV industry heresy, and Verizon was sued by ESPN for its efforts.
That's not to say Verizon's approach to battling cord cutting hasn't been without faults. While Verizon is offering new skinny bundles that are less expensive than the company's traditional cable options, it hasn't been able to entirely shake its legacy telco DNA. As such, the offerings are loaded with the usual sneaky below-the-line fees and device rental charges that jack up the price of the service post sale. Old habits die hard.
As for innovating, like most cable companies, Verizon finds itself torn between wanting to offer a kick-ass, disruptive product, and being terrified of cannibalizing its existing legacy TV customers. The end result for most cable companies is a smattering of services like TV Everywhere that talk a lot about innovation, flexibility and value, but are crafted by people too terrified to actually commit. And while Verizon clearly believes its new Go90 wireless streaming service will make the stodgy telco sexy to Millennials, the service has been maligned as a clumsy smattering of shows Verizon's target demo is already getting elsewhere.
While it's impressive that Verizon recognizes the future and is taking steps toward adaptation, it's important to remember this is the same company currently suing to dismantle net neutrality. And while company execs might be willing to admit they cut the cord, they'll never accept the reality that if history is any indication, it's going to be smaller, hungrier, companies that actually revolutionize the TV sector.
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Filed Under: cord cutting, fios, fiostv, maitreyi krishnaswamy, tv
Companies: verizon
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Re: getting it free...
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Re: Re: getting it free...
It's the content. Either you want it, or you don't.
She doesn't need it, and she's not alone. If you're not a sports fan, it's extremely easy to cut the cord.
I read her comments as someone who doesn't watch enough TV to warrant the expense. She probably does watch video, but through the multitude of alternatives that have cropped up over the years.
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Ah, Verizon.
When AT&T had to break open its device stranglehold on its ratepayers, you kept the spirit alive. Not content to charge freight for carrying bits, you keep the Bad Old Days alive with mandatory device restrictions (complete with port 4567 backdoors, for your protection!), mandatory device requirements (adapter for every stream, anyone?), crippled services (any FiOS customers have picture-in-picture? no? of course you don't), and unethical price hikes (oh no, it's a fee separate from that pay-one-price deal we hooked you with two years ago).
Don't think we're just limited to FiOS folks. VZW customers also enjoy the same stupidity! Lock down those phones, don't want someone blocking ads or removing the bloatware. Shhhh, don't mention that supercookie you can't kill, or APN you can't modify. Tether? Only if it's around your neck so we can slowly strangle you with more fees. Hotspot access? No way, we control the transport *and* the endpoints. Why? Because that's the law we bought, and we have more money than you do.
Awesome company. Deserves to be broken up and put under a DoJ consent decree. Okay. I'm done now.
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Re: Ah, Verizon.
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Re: Re: Ah, Verizon.
FTFY
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There are a million things that I can do with my evening and watching video will win sometimes. For that, I can pay $2-$3 per episode on iTunes, Amazon, or Google and not have to sit through commercial.
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My admittedly unscientific survey in my neighborhood says otherwise: the majority of cord cutters cut the cord because the prices were too high, both for simple landline phones and cable. DirectTV & Dish will soon follow if they keep up their pricing.
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I like to read, I like to play video games, I have hobbies, I have a dog that likes to be walked, I have kids that are fun to play with, etc... If I want to pick up a new series to watch, something else has to give.
I do have a cable TV subscription though. I watch baseball and usually one dramatic series per season (I'm into Fargo right now). My (teenager) kids don't watch any TV at all. When I was their age, I had four or five channels and watched as much TV as I could (several hours per day). My kids have a thousand channels available and watch nothing. Most of their friends don't watch TV either or if they do, they are into one thing.
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I occasionally try some of the shows from the big boys, like CBS, NBC, but it's so watered down, it bores me to tears.
Instead enjoy my family, my hobbies, and the occasional great movie. Just re-watched Goodfellas and Little Miss Sunshine. Different movies, but both had great stories, direction, and acting.
Now, compare those to ..... Quantico? No contest.
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Data caps incoming
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Re: Data caps incoming
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The same as it always has. The point is fewer people are buying it anymore.
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Below the line fees
I then canned the TV part completely and I have been VERY surprised to see $0 in below the line fees on my internet service only.
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It's the endpoints.
I want Verizon to connect me to the Internet. Period. Don't block ports, don't tell me what to do, don't tell me how to do it, don't force me to use specific devices. Everything they do to diminish the experience adds up to an undirected rage of helplessness, generated by them. This is the source of the anger.
If I want TV, give me TV. Bundle it, whatever, just give me access to the content and let me figure out how I want to see it. Don't block my ability to skip commercials, watch picture-in-picture, or save episodes for later. Don't put a "Subscribed Channel" filter on my set-top and then list non-subscribed content to tease me.
Play fair. I think they are incapable of fair play, and so that's why they must be punished.
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Re: It's the endpoints.
How would that be good for Verizon shareholders? I think that by adding all the crap to your service, they can generate a lot more revenue from the data they sell you.
Good luck convincing Verizon that their shareholders would be better off if they just sold you a dumb pipe.
> Don't block my ability to skip commercials
I think the more insidious part of that functionality is that every time you press FF or REW on your remote, your DVR sends that to your cable company and waits for a response granting permission. The cable company knows what you are watching and when you watch it and what parts you skip or rewatch or enable CC. The DVR is one of the greatest data collection devices imaginable.
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Maybe instead of spending as much time as possible trying to keep up with what everyone else in the world is doing with their lives, try to spend more time focused on your own life.
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How?
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Australia / Foxtel
The down side is, you must get their basic package in order to also get the sports package, but that's not so bad as they halved the price of their basic package last year. Well, to me it is not bad, as I don't subscribe to the sports channels!
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need or want
That's what a lot of these "prices too high/monoploly/...blah, blah" rants boil down to. Although I GREATLY APPRECIATE internet access, it's not a necessity. Neither is cable TV. Until we, the shee...people, realize that entertainment is not a necessity --AND-- show the corporations that we hold the $$, get used to more of the same. Share holders gotta eat!
Boycott or bend over.
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Re: need or want
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Re: Re: need or want
But there's no such thing as a free market.
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