A La Carte By Web Based Services Essay

As of late 2004, Verizon is already considered the world's largest telecommunication company with annual revenue of $67.8 billion. Their continued plans are leading toward acquisition and development of fiber technology, which will allow it to offer cable TV services. Apparently they are still apprehensive regarding business customer and plan to extend add-ons again into the private sector, which worked for them in 2003.

There are basically six technology-driven threats to the traditional rental model: (1) Cable companies offering Video on Demand (VOD), (2) online movie downloads, (3) online movie rentals, (4) disposable DVDs, (5) illegal movie downloads and DVD copying, and (6) Digital (or Personal) video recorders (DVR). (Jackson) One could also consider traditional pay-per-view (PPV) as and additional substitute. Only one of these seven, online movie rentals has proven to be a major competitive substitute for traditional movie rentals. All other areas, except traditional pay-per-view are expanding rapidly, but some face significant challenges.

However, in the era of the Internet, the market has changed. Cable television has been challenged by many alternative venues of media consumption, most notably in the form of the Internet. "There has been some competition from satellite TV players and (in a few areas) TV over IP" (Masnick 2008). "Thanks to the rise of Netflix, Hulu and hardware like the Roku box and Apple TV, cutting the cord to cable TV doesn't mean cutting yourself off from your favorite shows and channels" (Glaser 2010). However, most high-speed Internet consumers receive their Internet connection from the cable company, which indirectly funnels money to support cable TV.

1. Netflix’s original marketing strategy offered several flat-rate monthly subscription options; in which, members could stream movies and shows via the Internet or have disks sent to their homes in a pre-paid and pre-addressed envelope. Free from the despair of due dates and late fees, members could keep, up to, eight movies at a time. Upon the return of a disk, Netflix would automatically mail out the next movie from the customer’s video queue. Members were able to change and update their queues as frequently as they liked. The sheer innovation of Netflix’s strategy encouraged several competitors to enter the market to compete directly,

Verizon is a major telecommunication provider in the United States. The company is the market leader, with $110 billion revenue and $2.4 billion in profit (MSN Moneycentral, 2012). Verizon has steady revenue streams that are largely based on a subscription model. It has several business segments, including wireless (63.3% of revenues) and wireline (36.7%) (2011 Verizon Annual Report). Most of this report will therefore focus on the wireless business, not only because this is the largest business that the company operates but because it is a rapidly growing and evolving business as well, a function of the rapid pace of smartphone adoption in America.

Hulu is a first mover in this space and is currently enjoying the first mover advantage. However with the ubiquity of internet technology accompanied by lower costs and the commoditization of the technology, the barrier to entry will be reduced and more players will be attracted to the profitable online video business, eating into Hulu’s profitability and success. Also, the increase in IT investments in the internet age causes “a Winner-take-all dynamic and high turbulence, as each group of dominant innovators is threatened by succeeding waves of innovation” (McAfee and Brynjolfsson, 2008) in Schumpeterian competition. This makes Hulu’s success vulnerable.

As an individual who is looking to cut cable and pursue a streaming service, I believe that Hulu’s $39.99 Live Stream subscription, as described in the case, could be a strong supplement for pay TV. Although margins for this offering are predicted to be low, I believe that the development of such a subscription illustrates Hulu’s ability to complete market research and listen to consumers. This package indicated that Hulu understands that consumers want Live TV, but wishes to avoid costly bills and wasted

Although there is not much competition in this market, consumers always have alternate methods of receiving the same services and more than likely the same quality of services elsewhere. Whether it is choosing to stream videos online, watching them via “Pay per View” or “On Demand” it is truly a buyer’s market considering the services rendered aren’t considered necessities.

Netflix is an entertainment company that specializes in streaming media and online video-on-demand. Over the years, it has grown to include film and television production and other distribution services. Its business model has changed, and so has its overall production cost grown to keep up with the increased market share. As a result, its current position in the market has made it more exposed to competition from other firms, which is why it needs to develop new strategies to remain profitable. Netflix has grown over the past years despite competition and its unprofitability (Helft, 2007). Therefore, to understand its success, it is important provide a microeconomic analysis of Netflix, its history, its products, and the market.

Rogers Cable is the leader in Canada’s cable television market, with a over 2.3 million cable television subscribers and 500000 internet subscribers. In 1993 the Canadian government relaxed the norms of telecommunications industry followed by an application in 1999, allowing local carriers to change the content of the information passing through their networks. This led to increased competition in the market and the customers enjoyed a lot of choice. As such Rogers Cable focused completely on increasing its subscriber base and

“As a leader in communications, Verizon's mission is to enable people and businesses to communicate with each other. We are also committed to providing full and open communication with our customers, employees and investors”

In the competitive environment, Comcast does not get threatened with new entries into the market very often as the cable and satellite industry is very costly to enter. Comcast also does not have much supplier power so that does not factor very heavily into their strategy, especially now with the increase in streaming and satellite services for television. However, the other three forces in the Porter’s five forces model are all very active in Comcast’s business model (10K Comcast, 2017). The consumers subscribing to Comcast and the businesses advertising with Comcast do possess a certain degree of buyer power, this forces Comcast to keep their prices competitive and relevant to current demands in the market (10K Comcast, 2017). The threat of substitution in this industry is growing, this can be attributed to poor customer service, higher fees and the growth of online streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu that are taking customers away from traditional cable and satellite companies (Levy,2016).

Verizon Communications is not able to achieve its objective of becoming the market leader in delivering innovative, integrated communications solutions to its customers (management).

Over the past decade, significant changes in regulations, advances in technology, and shifts in competitive dynamics began transforming the cable industry. Companies within the industry were forced to adapt by acquiring economies of scale and scope. American Cable Communication was seeking to acquire AirThread Connections for three reasons. The two companies could help each other become more competitive in an industry that is moving toward bundled package service offerings. The acquisition would help both companies expand into the business market, and lastly American Cable was in a unique position to add value to AirThread’s operations. They could obtain a significant amount of

It’s the best and cheapest product on the market for Spanish speaking people. ● Fast expending of the video games market gives Dish Network the opportunity to increase in market share and customer base, which will lead to company’s profitability. ● US households having desire for IPTV service and 3D technologies. These markets are constantly growing and remaining to stay strong. If Dish Network would enter this segment and to introduce some 3D channels, it will increase a number of the company’s subscriber and as a result, company’s