Chapter 1 of the history of the television industry was fascinating in many ways, but the business part of the chapter was dominated by three companies. They were so dominant that writing here that the companies that owned the ABC, CBS, and NBC networks from the late 1940s through the late 1970s seems redundant.
In Chapter 2 of the TV industry’s history, the number of channels that people could watch jumped from three or four national channels and three or four local channels to hundreds of channels as cable TV networks like CNN, ESPN, and TNT emerged. However, the companies that owned the “Big Three” still had more viewers because their programs were free, so they and national newcomer Fox still had an outsized role in Chapter 2.
Chapter 2 of the TV industry’s history ended a few years ago. Basically, the beginning of the end occurred in 2011, when when a statistic TV insiders use call “people using television” (PUT), the amount of television Americans watch, began declining for the first time in 30 or 40 years. The amount of hours Americans watched broadcast and cable television was half in 2015 what it was in 2011, TV executive Tom Ascheim reported.
Instead of watching traditional television (broadcast and cable), people are now watching television via various technological alternatives. Instead of waiting for a program to start, they’re watching what they want, when they want.
“In the 2010s, a new force has arisen to challenge the network owners, a force they will find difficult to compete with and almost impossible to buy,” reports the article 7 Stocks to Buy for the Future of TV. “That force is streaming services, which deliver their shows to your TV, over the internet through plug-in dongles rather than set-top boxes — unless you prefer viewing on a PC, tablet or phone. These offer all the entertainment a TV zombie might ever need, and the services can cost less than $10 per month, much less than a cable service.”
So, we’re now in Chapter 3 of the history of the TV industry. It will focus on streaming through the Internet — and this is still an ongoing process.
This article will seek to name several of the companies that are transforming the TV industry during Chapter 3 of its history. Wealth Authority needs to caution you that things are happening so fast that it’s difficult to predict which companies will be the stars of Chapter 3. Headlines from just the past three days include:
“T-Mobile is making an enormous bet on cable television. Here’s how”
“T-Mobile Announces Internet TV Service Coming in 2018”
“Disney buys much of Fox in megamerger that will shake world of entertainment and media”
“Why AT&T Believes the Time Warner Transaction Will Close”
“YouTube TV expands its cable-free TV service to 34 new markets”
“Television At A Crossroads”
Netflix Is The Model
When TV industry analysts talk about companies that are transforming the TV industry, the first company that often comes up is Netflix. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company is often cited as the model for the future of television.
Netflix focuses on streaming media and video on demand. It’s the largest advertisement-free video subscription service, reports “The Future of Television: Where the U.S. Industry Is Heading.” In 2013, people watched 1.2 billion hours of videos on Netflix per month. By 2017, people were watching 4 billion hours per month, reports “110 Amazing Netflix Statistics and Facts.”
“If Netflix were a television network, it would rank as one of the top five most viewed networks today,” “The Future of Television” article says.
Regards,
Ethan Warrick
Editor
Wealth Authority
