something slightly different, many consumers are electing not to limit themselves to one service or provider. Instead, they are selecting a mix of different services to suit their different tastes. They are then subscribing to those, alongside their basic TV subscriptions, which gives them something different again. This trend will become even more pronounced over the coming months, with consumers making the most of low cost services to make their own pick and mix of OTT and TV services.
During 2016, we will see a number of established pay TV operators and broadcasters launching OTT services with a broader range of content available across several consumer devices. This will further build brand loyalty for those providers and make cord-cutting all the less likely. Of course, pay TV operators are in a unique position, with strong customer awareness and billing relationships in local markets. A mix of studio and
local content will help engage more intimately with their audiences and mean that those services will become a good additional service for the modern consumers.
Growing appetite for niche content
Part of this trend for multiple OTT services will be driven by a growing appetite for those services offering niche content. As more niche services launch, this trend will be even more apparent. Take, for example the SeeSo service launched recently by NBCUniversal. It provides subscribers with an ad-free service containing a vast catalogue of comedy entertainment. By also featuring exclusive original series and stand-up comedy, it is carving out a niche for itself and further generating consumer interest and demand. Naturally, this was never intended to be a single subscription service, giving consumers all their entertainment in one bundle,
unless the consumer only likes comedy. This is a bolt-on, giving viewers somewhere to get must-see comedy in one place, and sits nicely alongside the main channel and other services.
Over the coming months, we will see more and more similar, niche entertainment services launching from other players, which will in turn make the multiple subscription approach all the more widespread.
The effects of multiple subscriptions
This trend for multiple OTT subscriptions will have a number of knock-on effects for the industry. The most significant effect will be that as the potential market grows, we will see more players launching OTT services, thereby increasing competition. Without the move to multiple subscriptions, one could argue that the OTT market is already saturated, with such a wide range of players and services already available. However, if consumers are subscribing to more than one, that paves the way for many more providers to join the party.
For the consumer, that means more choice of content and a great deal of buying power. With that buying power, and given the fact that subscribing to multiple subscriptions means that consumers will not want to pay much for each one. The cost of OTT services will therefore drop significantly
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