Wondering what to pay attention to in the world of broadband this week? Here are a few stories that have caught my eye.
Remote Storage DVR Gets a Green Light
Several pubs this week have covered the fact that cable operators now have the legal go-ahead to implement remote-storage DVR. This court saga began back in 2007 when a district court ruled against Cablevision and its plans for network-based DVR services. But that ruling was overturned by an appeals court, and this week the Supreme Court upheld that appeal. Technically speaking, an RS-DVR service could be highly disruptive to the way on-demand networks are currently constructed. However, with the right streaming, storage, and ingest solutions, the potential benefits to consumers and operators are very real.
Targeted Advertising Effects on Brand Loyalty
CED has a very interesting piece up on its website regarding a new study commissioned by the CMO Council. The study calls into question the lasting effect of brand loyalty on consumer purchasing, but it also shows how targeted advertising and promotions can be used to strengthen the loyalty tie. As the article points out, this is good news for targeted advertising initiatives currently underway among pay-TV operators.
The researchers say they have hundreds of instances where they have successfully increased sales by identifying likely loyal buyers and by delivering relevant advertising followed by coupons to specific households.
Mobile Broadband as Customer Retention Tool
I’ve written before about how operators are adding smart services to their “dumb” pipes (Wi-Fi access at hotspots, ESPN360, etc.), but Paul Kapustka at Sidecut Reports handily adds WiMAX to the list of cable customer retention tools. In fact, he pairs Comcast’s launch of mobile broadband service this week with the TV Everywhere initiatives in the works. Comcast is giving subscribers more places to watch content and a price-competitive mobile broadband service to make that content accessible. Not a bad way to keep subscribers.
[...] pursuing the technology with renewed momentum in the wake of Cablevision’s legal successes. After protracted battles in court, Cablevision launched its Remote Storage DVR (RS-DVR) service earlier this year, and now [...]