TiVo Strategic Audit Essay

On the horizon, Blockbusters number of competitors should steadily increase from new emerging technologies. If Blockbuster extends into the realm of VOD, Legal Movie Downloads, or Digital Video Recorders (DVR), it must realize there are existing and powerful players in these markets already. This new technology is shaping the market for many deals or partnerships. They will face fierce competition, but in the future, Blockbuster must not find it self on the outside looking in.

3. What does your strategic group map of this industry look like? How attractively is Netflix positioned on the map? Why?

TiVo is positioned toward consumers “as a smart and friendly service that could improve their lifestyle” (page 1 of the case). The primary point of the product is to enhance the TV viewing experience by offering features that save time and allow customer to better manage the time they do spend watching television. Basically, it is TV on the subscriber’s schedule. Like any product which saves time (or helps us to better manage our time), the tangible benefit is an improved quality of life – time is freed up to do more, or better managed to do that which is more important. Also, given the fact that watching TV is family activity (or social activity), TiVo’s features lead to better relationships since the activity can be better managed.

C) there are many buyers and sellers, and each is large relative to the total market.

Bargaining power of buyers is medium-high because of the low switching costs and wider spectrum of similar products selling at competitive prices due to the influence of developing countries

C. Small number of firms, price maker, limited entry and exit, and a standardized product

21) Suppose that an industry is characterized by a few firms and price leadership. We would expect that:

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.

Bargaining power of buyers: Businesses and individuals all fall under the customer's category for this industry. Big customers do get volume discounts and can negotiate prices with sales representatives. However smaller customers have to take what is being offered to them. The only say they have is that they can switch between the players, but due to intense competition, the prices offered are generally the same across the service band.

We cannot assume that everyone with a TV enjoys it as much as current clients do and feel the necessity to record their TV shows. The focus in current clients’ behavior and the lack of information about the rest of the market considering client’s cultural, social and personal factors does not allow us to clearly see the potential for this product and more effort must be put on that rather than simple sales effort.

Competitive rivalry exists between companies with the same or similar products/services and similar markets. Factors to be considered include:

Video-on-demand or VOD, a service that allows users to select and watch videos over the internet, will be one of the greatest innovation as stated in the Netflix case study. It will be a great opportunity for Netflix, but it will also be a challenge to integrate or do away with its current business model. Its current business model is one that relies on the internet and the post service to deliver DVDs to its subscribers. Netflix should carefully enter the VOD market without doing away with its current model. This will allow it to maintain its growing position as a giant in this media industry. In order to better understand Netflix and the problems it faces, we must first identify its strengths. What does Netflix offer its customers that its competitors do not? What differentiates it from its competitors?

AT&T began business back in the 19th century when AT&T became the parent company of Bell System. At the time Bell System held a monopoly in telephone service and was considered to be the best in the world. In 1984 Bell broke into eight different organizations and until 1986 AT&T was part of an integrated telecommunication service. Today AT&T is a global leader in the telecommunications and continues to grow (AT&T, 2013). One of the best technological ideas that helped AT&T stay competitive in the market was the introduction of the Apple iPad. The iPad offers different features and options for different ages,

What do we really mean by television? The way we watch television has drastically changed over the last fifteen years due to new technologies such as digital television and services providing on-demand access. These drastic changes have had a huge effect on viewers and have “allowed online streaming platforms to dominate and revolutionize the way the audience consumes” (Aliloupour) media, ultimately allowing the viewer to be in total control of how, when and where they want their content. The idea of only being able to watch television on a television set is now a thing of the past. Due to technology, the audience now has a vast variety of options on how they can access content. By using scholarly articles, research in new media and Internet sites I will be analyzing current television and where the future of television will be heading.

New Entrants: Moderate. The capital investment requirements are high. Large players derived extensive benefits from the economies of scale. Product differentiation in terms of product itself is low, as hardware and software used are almost universal. Product differentiation in terms of brand is high due to the firm’s marketing efforts. Incumbents have more established and recognized brands. As new players enter, existing players are likely to retaliate. The industry links closely with the supplier, and require efficient distribution channel, hence the requirement in access to channels is high. Large firms are tend to have better connection to various channels.