Saturday, November 30, 2013

Pay Cable Prices Going Up, 'Day of Reckoning' Approaches



Pay Cable Prices Going Up, 'Day of Reckoning' Approaches
by Christian Toto 29 Nov 2013, 10:40 AM PDT
We learned earlier this week that cable providers lost 5 million subscribers since 2010, a partial result from the rise of streaming and online content options.

Now, Variety reports that pay cable giants will be passing higher prices on to subscribers with no end in sight.

Nine companies — Disney, Fox, Time Warner, Comcast/NBCUniversal, CBS, Viacom, Discovery, Scripps and AMC — control about 90% of the professionally produced TV content in the U.S., spending an estimated $45 billion per year on that content, according to Juenger. ”To date, it has been impossible for a distributor to assemble a pay-TV offering that can successfully attract and retain subscribers without having the content from all of these nine companies.”

So, that means pay TV bills will continue to climb faster than the overall cost of living for U.S. consumers.

This comes at a time when Netflix is beefing up its original content, Amazon Prime is doing the same and new players (Target, Redbox) are entering the streaming space.

It's not panic time ... yet for the pay cable giants. That day will come, Variety warns.

... pay-TV players are facing a day of reckoning in one form or another.

Cable Providers
George J. Mitchell was the chairman for the Walt Disney Company, the Mideast envoy for the Barack Obama administration, and the chair emeritus for the International Crisis Group.

Note: George Soros is a board member for the International Crisis Group, and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Robin Hood Foundation, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, the Urban Institute (think tank), the Sundance Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the New America Foundation.
John S. Chen is a director at the Walt Disney Company, and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Sheryl K. Sandberg is a director at the Walt Disney Company, and was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Judith Rodin is a director at the Comcast Corporation, and was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
NBCUniversal is the owner of the Comcast Corporation.
Jeff Zucker was the president & CEO for NBCUniversal, and is a director at the Robin Hood Foundation.
Douglas P. Morris is a director at the Robin Hood Foundation, and a director at CBS.
Ellen V. Futter was a director at Viacom, and is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Michael H. Jordan is the chairman & CEO for CBS, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Van Gordon Sauter was the president for CBS, and is married to Kathleen Brown.
Kathleen Brown is married to Van Gordon Sauter, the California state government governor Jerry Brown’s sister, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory
Please note: This link for the members of the Commercial Club of Chicago can no longer be found.
William Wrigley Jr. II is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was the chairman for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.
Julie A. Wrigley was an assistant to the president for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, and a director at the E.W. Scripps Company.
Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. is a subsidiary of the E.W. Scripps Company.
Valerie B. Jarrett is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and her great uncle is Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, a senior director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, a life trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank), was a director at the Xerox Corporation, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
John E. Sununu is an adviser at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, and a director at Time Warner Cable Inc.
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP was the lobby firm for the Walt Disney Company, and is the lobby firm for Cox Enterprises.
Cox Communications Inc. is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises.
Michael I. Sovern is a director emeritus at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and was a director at the Comcast Corporation.
Donald A. Baer is a trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank), and was the SVP for Discovery Communications Inc.
Glenn A. Britt is a director at the Xerox Corporation, and the chairman & president & CEO for Time Warner Cable Inc.
N.J. Nicholas Jr. was a director at the Xerox Corporation, the president & co-CEO for Time Warner Inc., and is a director at Time Warner Cable Inc.
Ann N. Reese is a director at the Xerox Corporation, and was a director at CBS.
Thomas E. Rothman was the chairman & CEO for Fox Filmed Entertainment, and is a trustee emeritus for the Sundance Institute.
Robert Redford is the founder & president for the Sundance Institute, a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and a partner for the Sundance Channel.
John E. Bryson was a co-founder for the Natural Resources Defense Council, and a director at the Walt Disney Company.
Wendy Schmidt is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and married to Eric E. Schmidt.
Eric E. Schmidt is married to Wendy Schmidt, the chairman of the New America Foundation (think tank), was a funder for the New America Foundation (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Laurene Powell Jobs was a director at the New America Foundation (think tank), and married to Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs was married to Laurene Powell Jobs, and a director at Walt Disney Company.
Sundance Channel is a partner with CBS and NBCUniversal.
Hulu, LLC is the content provider for the Sundance Channel, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Movie Channel, the content provider, subsidiary of NBCUniversal, and Walt Disney Company is a co-owner.
Chadwick Ho is the SVP & general counsel for Hulu, LLC, and was a VP for the Fox Interactive Media.
Jean-Paul Colaco was the SVP for Hulu, LLC, and the SVP for the Walt Disney Company.
Eric Feng is the CTO for Hulu, LLC, and a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Margaret C. Whitman was a strategic adviser at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the SVP for the Walt Disney Company, and a director at DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.
Obama to visit DreamWorks HQ
(Past Research for DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.)
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Mellody L. Hobson is the chairman for DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
William Wrigley Jr. II is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was the chairman for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.
Julie A. Wrigley was an assistant to the president for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, and a director at the E.W. Scripps Company.
Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. is a subsidiary of the E.W. Scripps Company.
Kathleen Brown is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the California state government governor Jerry Brown’s sister, and married to Van Gordon Sauter.
Van Gordon Sauter is married to Kathleen Brown, and was the president for CBS.

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