OTT Gaining Traction as Consumers Learn Their Options, Cable Executives Say

Mediacom has seen "steady deterioration" of its video business due to pricing and over-the-top competition, said Senior Vice President-Legal and Public Affairs Tom Larsen. Cord-cutting "is the video issue of our time as consumers learn they have choice" via OTT, said American Cable Association President Matt Polka. The cable executives spoke on C-SPAN's The Communicators in a segment to be televised this weekend that has been put online. The biggest obstacle to cable offering skinny bundles is programmers, Larsen said. "They would rather continue to reap the cash from that model," with growth coming outside that model via OTT providers, he said. They also are the hurdle to a la carte offerings, Polka said, saying creating skinny bundles has been difficult enough due to penetration requirements in carriage agreements. He said OTT services now have the a la carte offerings the public demands. Cable operators broadly are "more upbeat" because of the regulatory philosophies of the Trump administration and Congress, Polka said. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is clearly deregulatory, Larsen said, but "he is still not going to address some of the issues." Polka said internet privacy regulations need to cover edge providers instead of focusing on ISPs. "The Googles of the world, the Amazons, are the ones that take this data and monetize it," Polka said. Larsen said cable ISPs are wary of the Title II Communications Act regulations adopted by the Wheeler FCC, but Mediacom "had to take a gamble" and committed to spending $1 billion over three years to be an all-DOCSIS 3.1 network. He said 1 GB network speeds were launched in Q1 in 500 communities it serves, with another 900 to get the speed upgrade by year's end.