The TV Subscriber Journey: Three Foundational Steps

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Brian Ring, JT Taylor, Tim Ruhl, Sunil Mudholkar

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world

A compelling John Lennon lyric, sure. But when it comes to TV, Tradition is partnering with Revolution, and together they are creating the best of both worlds for providers and consumers.

We can no longer expect consumers to accept one-size-fits-all TV. They’re looking for a video service to fill unique and immediate viewing needs. And today’s robust video marketplace means that fresher, more personalized video product offers can inevitably be found.

In response, today’s leading TV operators are working to build flexible architectures so they can launch increasingly diverse products and profitably attract all subscribers. They are no longer tied to monolithic, rigid architectures.

At the same time, the economic reality of pay TV means that the foundation of this platform needs to be low-cost and agile. It needs to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership for video service infrastructure.

How can operators deploy a platform that can be mapped to an endless journey of ever-better TV, increased usage, and a strong price-to-value ratio in the consumer’s mind? And do all that while achieving aggressive cost structure objectives?

Our Infinite Video Platform does it by building-in three foundational levels. The basic outline of each level is below. Each one contains core pillars upon which any subscriber experience can be built and monetized.

Three Foundational Levels on the TV Subscriber Journey

Level one. This is the broadband-only level, providing a simple-to-subscribe, no frills video offering. It might deliver linear and/or on-demand video using OTT streaming delivery. The target platforms could be iOS or Android mobile devices, or might expand into other OTT Apps like Roku or Apple TV. This level can also support some basic time-shifted TV use cases via our cloud DVR service.

Level two. This level answers the video demand of that level one subscriber that – perhaps because of the great content they’re now hooked on – wants to see their favorite shows on a 40″ TV in the family room. For them, we can leverage a lightweight Android TV streaming box with an easy-to-launch service-provider-branded TV home page. This service provider launcher can include a la carte linear channels, a VOD catalog and upgradeable cloud DVR features.

Level two also brings more powerful, federated search across all catalogs. And it has specialized Viewing Modes that help to improve the search & discovery user experience in particular ways for parents with kids, sports fans of all types, and movie buffs.

Level three. Want the ultimate in a premium video experience including a feature-rich cloud DVR and Ultra HD 4K channels? Then a high-quality, managed set-top box is required. This is particularly the case in regions around the world that have limited connectivity. However, unlike an older generation of set-top boxes, newer, IP-enabled set-tops can be deployed with all of the advantages of internet TV.

Specifically, we can seamlessly blend streaming services from Netflix, Amazon and YouTube into the pay TV experience. And present it in a unified search & discovery experience across multiple devices.

From level one to three, we support a simple subscriber acquisition workflow and offer the easy ability for consumers to change or upgrade their particular pay TV package. The result is a blend of Tradition and Revolution at each stage, enabling operators to simplify content discovery, promote viewing engagement, and grow revenues.

Realizing Revenue from Every Subscriber Type:

Our mission is to enable operators to offer diverse product options to consumers using a single, agile, and cost-efficient platform. By doing so, we help our customers fulfill subscriber demand for a wide-range of pricing, product and programming options.

This is what Infinite Video Platform enables. It combines Tradition and Revolution — and does it with a world-class user experience, the ability to stream everywhere, dynamic targeted advertising, time-shifted TV, and the flexibility to offer fresh products to new audiences.