Screens earn places at an accelerated pace in people's daily lives. At home, televisions with more inches, computers that reproduce hours of video and cell phones taking time away from family dialogue. In public spaces, smartphones and iPad with generous screens to access programs from different platforms.
There is no doubt: in the digital world, content is king. Above all, the audiovisual content. Thousands of video available on different platforms are monopolizing more space at leisure.
Netflix, YouTube, Flow, Movistar Play and DirecTV Go, among other options - even proposals on the Internet, of doubtful legality - dispute the preference of an audience that has been changing their consumption habits.
Exclusive series, films and documentaries are the spearhead of the platforms to achieve subscribers and retain those that already exist. It is clear: changes in the way of consuming audiovisual content completely altered the traditional television business.
"What is dying is the model of the television business, as we know it. That is, the one that is based on advertising on open TV and a mix between subscriptions and advertisements on paid TV," says consultant Enrique Carrier, Director of Carrier y Asociados.
"Traditional TV maintains its strength in live content, especially in sports. However, the series and movies are migrating to video platforms. In that sense, there is a very deep market transformation," adds the specialist.
Within the universe of proposals, on demand content occupies a more leading role, at the expense of pay TV. In total, subscription television totals 9.45 million accesses in the country and is present in 68 out of 100 homes, according to official figures as of March 2019.
The cimbronazo that shakes traditional TV is not only in terms of audience, but also income: according to the Argentine Chamber of Media Agencies (CAAM), the investment in this medium was $ 14.214 million in 2018, marking a growth of just 13% compared to 2017. That is, three times below inflation.
Currently, there are more than 100 online platforms in the local market that offer, together, more than 20,000 movies, 5,000 series and 300 live signals, according to Business Bureau (BB) data. In the golden age of content, no company wants to stay out.
The market
The new habits of consumers of audiovisual content are no longer limited only to traditional programming grids. The trend indicates that they see what they want, when they want and where they want.
In this sense, according to Flow figures, the Cablevision streaming service, the main consumption habits of Argentines are:
- 75% watch at least two running chapters
- The weekly average is 7 episodes
- 35% of users follow more than one series
Broadband connections and the variety of terminals to access the Internet provide freedom of choice. "Little by little, TV becomes a kind of application," Carrier remarks.
For example, the Netflix model assumes a separation between the network and the content. That is, with a broadband connection, materials are accessed, regardless of the Internet provider, known as Over The Top (OTT).
In addition, the American giant went from being an online video store to a giant producer of series and films. Today, fight hand in hand with major Hollywood studios.
In Argentina, the company run by Reed Hastings has become a generic to call online video paid platforms. A kind of paradigm and reference required in the market for any subscription service to web content.
From FX Network they provide a comparison that exempts any comment: between 2014 and 2018 the distribution of original material fell 17% in the basic pay TV subscription, while an impressive 400% in streaming platforms grew.
The success of the US company led several telecommunications companies to develop similar proposals although, for the moment, with a substantial difference: they own the networks. That is, they go from the business of connectivity or pay TV to the video on demand.
The proposals
The country's great telcos and cable companies know that the consumer is moving steadily towards the era of streaming. Therefore, the industry's commitment to its own content platforms, adapted to the era of mobility, is logical.
Such is the case of Flow (Cablevision), Movistar Play, Claro Video or the recently launched DirecTV Go, which give access to all kinds of content from different devices.
In keeping with this trend, Leonardo Rubino, Movistar Argentina Video Value Proposal Manager, tells iProUP: "Today, television was transformed into a box with several platforms."
Martin Heine, Marketing Director of Telecom Cablevisión agrees on this point: "As a result of the advancement of new technologies and the convergence of services, TV as we always knew it experiences a profound change of era. There is a new paradigm of consumption" .
A striking aspect of the market is that the proposals of these companies have a common denominator: they are offered to each client's customer base; as a complement to the original proposal of your business. No one dares to propose a stand alone product. That is, it can be hired outside of connectivity or pay TV service. Just for now.
The forecast is that the phenomenon of the cord cutter (which is lowered from the pay TV subscription) will be of low impact at least in the coming years. For now, it is added value: the company that does not have this solution loses.
In turn, the subscription also presents a new challenge to companies: customers are multiscreen. Therefore, today the key is to measure the same person on different screens.
Rubino explains that the launch of Movistar Play is "a response to changes in consumer habits, which changed the way of accessing audiovisual content."
However, he clarifies that the north of the company "is connectivity, broadband; the OTT is an additional attribute, an aggregate of entertainment for services we offer, in addition to a new form of relationship with customers."
Currently, the Spanish giant's platform has 200,000 Argentine clients, confirming that the migration to new forms of TV continues to rise. "Mobile video consumption is a trend that is expanding," says the Telecom executive.
Claro, another telco business actor, also has its Internet-based proposal: it offers Claro Video, its own "Netflix" with movies and series. However, the company of Carlos Slim has been falling behind every day more than its direct competitors. So much so that its service is available only in some Conurbano parties and in a handful of inland cities. "
The last of the great players to join the platoon has been DirectTV, which mimics the Flow model.
That is, when you subscribe to the Satellite TV service, you can access DirecTV Go, multiplatform to view live signals or on demand format for broadcast programs. In Argentina it already has 3 million customers, equivalent to almost 30% of the pay-TV market, of 11 million subscribers, according to BB data.
Although it was estimated that the company would go out with this benefit in the "stand alone" mode, for now it is only offered free of charge to its current customers as a value service, as Telecom does with Flow, and Claro with Claro Video. The proposal, launched in June, combines live and on-demand programming, such as series, documentaries, movies, sports and premium programming.
This is a "logical" mode for traditional pay TV players: today customers demand content at any time and place. Therefore, live broadcasts must be adapted to the era of mobility. Your sports leg will be key in the service.
The company has the rights for the Copa Sudamericana, La Liga Santander and the Copa del Rey of Spain, Ligue 1 of France and the UEFA Nations League and the qualifying rounds of Euro 2020. As the company indicates to iProUP, the sport is the "hook" that holds many subscriptions. The new product that, it is estimated, will continue under the same trend.
With traditional TV increasingly relegated to the preferences of viewers, the new television is preparing to take its place as a center of home entertainment. It is an inevitable, but orderly transition, at least from cable and telephone operators.
Is there a place for everyone in the market? The final answer will be the audience itself. Meanwhile, the offer expands: the future is on demand.
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