The Carmel Group

Cost of Sports TV Raises Stakes in Yankees-Comcast Fight

March 28, 2016December 10, 2017 carmelgr

The Wall Stret Journal BUSINESS MEDIA & MARKETING Cost of Sports TV Raises Stakes in Yankees, Comcast Fight Pay-TV providers are digging in their heels over rising sports-TV costs, threatening a money stream powering industry profits, huge salaries for star players Yankees games on YES averaged 250,000 viewers last season, down from a 2007 high of 450,000. Shown, New York… Read More

Time to Cut Those Bloated Media Pay Checks

March 23, 2016December 10, 2017 carmelgr

Is Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav really worth $156 million a year? Although Discovery Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK)’s board of directors seems to think so, it’s increasingly hard to see how. At a time when big traditional media companies are under assault from new-media upstarts and media stock prices are slumping, it’s pretty tough to justify such a… Read More

The Business Strategy Behind the Fragmenting OTT Market

March 23, 2016December 10, 2017 carmelgr

This panel explores the business strategies behind the unbundling and unraveling of the industry as it moves from cable to the cloud and the subsequent sprint to build new OTT experiences. By Streaming Media Editorial Staff Posted on February 8, 2016 From Netflix, HBO and Showtime, to broader offerings such as Dish’s Sling, CBS’s All Access, Comcast’s Stream, and Apple… Read More

10 Media Trends Disrupting the Satellite Market

March 23, 2016December 10, 2017 carmelgr

Evolving media habits such as streaming, Over-the-Top (OTT) and bandwidth demand are driving change in the way satellite bandwidth is used and consumed. While a recent study conducted by Ericsson found that 60 percent of millennials are still consuming linear TV, the popularity of live content such as sports and events sustain much of that demand. Alternative… Read More

How Data Analytics Is Changing TV

November 30, 2015January 8, 2018 carmelgr

Traditional Pilots vs. Viewer Measurement Few know and appreciate that one of the best examples of the power, indeed the magic, of modern data analytics is Netflix’s series House of Cards (HOC). Indeed, HOC registers as one of the most successful TV and video programming introductions of all time. Yet, what is most remarkable is how HOC was developed and introduced. As HOC star Kevin Spacey explained in… Read More

Comcast, TiVo, AT&T, Dish: Four Possible Q4 Video Strategies

September 30, 2015January 8, 2018 carmelgr

Consolidation, Diversification Rule the Day It is wise to occasionally remind readers of the reason behind this column’s name, “Mixed Signals.” “Mixed Signals” got its name because so many of the video silos we construct to help us understand and organize the chaotic video marketplace are rather artificial. This is another way of saying that the businesses and signals… Read More

Programmatic and Relevant Ads: Successfully Tapping the Universal Passion

September 22, 2015January 8, 2018 carmelgr

Ad-Blocking App Misses the Point It was one of those “Ah-ha” moments. It then turned quickly into an out-loud “What!!!???” moment. The San Francisco Bay Area’s KGO radio station was talking over-the-air with an anonymous technology editor, labeled an “expert” on the topic of advertising. It was mid-afternoon last Friday, Sept. 18. The topic was ad-blocking, specifically… Read More

Why Does the Cable-TV Bundle Exist Anyway?

August 28, 2015December 10, 2017 carmelgr

Selling packets of channels to subscribers once made sense, but not so much anymore ENLARGE By JOE FLINT June 8, 2015 7:57 p.m. ET 137 COMMENTS For four decades, the number of channels on the cable-TV dial has risen with seemingly unstoppable momentum, bringing consumers more choices than ever before. Sounds great, except most people don’t want to pay for… Read More

Tech firms and TV programmers eye get-together

August 28, 2015December 10, 2017 carmelgr

Article Last week’s media sector meltdown is prompting merger talk anew — but several industry players said Monday that if there are get-togethers on the horizon, they’ll just as likely be between tech firms and TV programmers. “You’re going to see some traditional players making some unusual moves in the next six months,” said Jimmy Schaeffler, a pay-TV consultant at… Read More

Time Warner Still a Target as HBO NOW Battles Netflix

August 28, 2015December 10, 2017 carmelgr

Corrects in 8th paragraph that HBO, combined with Time Warner’s Cinemax, has 122 pay-TV subscribers worldwide. NEW YORK (TheStreet) — It might not officially be on the market, but Time Warner (TWX – Get Report) may still prove to be an attractive acquisition target. Though CEO Jeff Bewkes successfully fought off the hostile approaches of Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox… Read More