Economies of scale

There has been a lot of imperceptible change in television just in the last couple of years, and much of it has escaped our notice. But these changes will impact the way we watch, habits that have now become all too fluid and dependent on our schedules and moods. While there are still many programs like continuing dramas that demand that the audience sit and watch at a fixed time every day or every evening, this fixation will gradually lose sway as replay schedules allow binge-watching at other days and times.

One of the most significant trends is that mainstream content providers have gone mobile. You can now catch your favorite sporting events live at any time through mobile service providers. So far, the public has gotten used to watching on a smaller screen, as clarity of signal and higher definition of previous cameras and transmitters have boosted quality of reception. Steadily, mobile phone companies are also commissioning content, although the numbers have not yet caught up with mainstream viewers, and the advertising revenue is still building for the new platform. 

There is a possibility that things will change, now that mobile devices and other technological changes have made watching content more flexible. The Philippines has supposedly breached the 50 percent mark in terms of viewers watching televised content on their mobile devices. That will help prolong the dominance of the major networks for a while. However, if we look at the US model as an example, soon more people will be watching their favorite programs on their terms. Following a network’s programming schedule has become an antiquated model, save for news programs which stay on breaking stories. This was the genius of Netflix: uploading entire seasons in one go, leaving the viewer in charge of when to savor the content. Acknowledging this need has brought a fierce loyalty to the new broadcaster, not to mention innovation and creativity in terms of programming.

Also, you can buy a digital television receiver for under P1,000 at many car accessory dealers. Although intended for use in vehicles, the innate mobility makes it easy to take TV with you, as the devices are roughly the size of a tablet, anyway. As this market segment grows, demand for mobile content will, too. A new channel broadcast via this medium already has close to 100,000 viewers. Though relatively small compared to the major networks’ proclaimed viewership, it is a much cheaper way to have your own channel.

In the meantime, since each of the major telcos also owns or has a subsidiary that is a broadcasting network or vice versa, they may not want to accelerate the competition between the two, since cable is already also adding new ways to watch whatever you want, whenever you want. The major newspapers are also in a bit of a quandary, as the new flexibility in news gathering necessitates new business models for them. Newspapers are fixed hard copies of the news. But for the mobile age, deadlines are any time, and the first to break the story wins. Print journalists use their phones to shoot (somewhat crude) video of crucial moments in big sports events already. Everything is blending into a streaming blur.

There are, however, things that have not yet changed. Competing networks do not broadcast news about sporting events they do not air, unless it’s a really big event. One television reporter I know had to fight to cover SanMig Coffee’s Grand Slam win. There is an unwritten embargo on the other guy’s sports shows, unless, of course, it’s shown on delayed telecast and we get to announce a spoiler first. For those of us who are purists, news is news, especially in sports, which doesn’t land on the evening newscasts in a daily basis yet. Perhaps our news producers and editors do not think that most sports news will get the ratings, unlike the outfit of the day or new workout routine or love life of some starlet the network employs. Such is life in the Philippines.

On the other side of the fence, the politics in sports associations does not provide a healthy environment for negotiation with TV networks. Fortunately, leagues like the PBA, UAAP and NCAA see the value of multi-year (some up to 10 years) contract for building the brand and creating viewing habits. But for other sports like football, rugby and others, each international event is given a different price tag. Unless it’s the Olympics, Asian Games, SEA Games or a world championship, this turns networks off. Firstly, your market is only the Philippines, which is already a vastly limiting proposition. Secondly, there is a big investment in equipment and personnel. Third, there are internal profit margins that must be maintained. Once in a while, a network may gamble on an event. But as the cliché goes, only the first one is free.

In the next few years, we may see another shift when mobile companies decide to cover sports events directly for smart phones, though this will likely be for an additional subscription fee. Anyway, if you manage to hook up your mobile device to a large flat screen, it will still be cheaper than pay-per-view. It will just take one brave mobile service provider to start the bandwagon.