Is the future of television paying by the channel? This venture capitalist thinks so

John Backus, managing partner of New Atlantic Ventures, discusses the future of television:

Take a look at some major developments so far this year:

– Netflix was once viewed as an invincible Wall Street darling and the stock has nearly fallen off a cliff as it struggles to evolve its business model. But it realizes television is about the content so it continues to pay up to acquire premium television content for its streaming service.

– Hulu was for sale and then it wasn’t.

– NBC Universal was formed by Comcast and GE.

-Amazon launched a streaming service and is offering it free to Prime members

-Google introduced YouTube channels to organize video content

-HBO, ABC and many others introduced dedicated iPad apps for users to stream their shows. Comcast and Verizon followed suit with a subset of their cable offerings streamed anywhere, anytime.

-In just the last week, Dish Networks is rumored to be exploring a radical change in its delivery strategy as it struggles to retain subscribers

Live sports are the only programs propping up the cable companies today. Everything else is becoming available, rapidly, by the show or by the channel.

My prediction: You will be able to buy television by the channel. You will be able to watch it live, or watch it from the cloud using live streaming for any channel any program any time slot over the last 30 days. ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox for $1.99 a month. CNN & Fox News for $.99. Discovery, National Geographic, Sprout, BET $2.99. ESPN? Maybe $4.99.

 

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