Succeeding in Video by Enhancing the Viewing Experience
Todays hotly contested pay-TV market is getting increasingly aggressive. Multiple OTT services are competing to capture market share as the transition from traditional pay-TV services to internet-based services keeps accelerating. But these market dynamics are also creating an environment where regional US pay-TV service providers could enjoy a clear advantage.
This was the focus of the recent Light Reading webinar, Getting Personal: How Regional & Local Service Providers Can Succeed in Video by Enhancing the Viewing Experience. Moderated by Light Reading's Cable/Video practice leader, Alan Breznick, the webinar featured panelists John Warmath, CEO of 1Tennessee; Dustin Twyman CTO of 1Tennessee; Michael McLaughlin, CTO of IPVconnect; and Rohit Mehra, Sales VP of NAGRA. All participants shared their perspectives on consumer expectations, the profitability potential of pay-TV service, the benefits of switching to IPTV and how to select the right partner to achieve your objectives.
A market driven by consumer demand
Kicking off the conversation, Breznick queried the panelists on what consumers are seeking and expecting in a pay-TV service today.
McLaughlin weighed in on the challenge with his customer base, mainly consisting of private communities and MDU-type environments, looking for compelling reasons not to just think of IPVconnect as a broadband service provider but also as a provider of video services. Given the crowded video space, IPVconnect zoned in on providing a package of services that distinguishes them from competitors, featuring localization, custom channel options and PPV options.
People are looking for a more and more complex feature set, content aggregation, content discovery, and they want it in an intuitive, easy-to-use package, added Warmath.
Unique opportunities for local and regional providers
The key to all this is the matter of profitability. When asked if pay-TV services can still be profitable for local and regional providers, the panelists shared their perspectives.
You have three strategies, kill TV, let it die slowly, or invest to stop the attrition that everyone is seeing. This depends on the provider but, a substantial number of our customers want to do business locally. If we can provide a product and a service that lives up to their expectations, they're going to do business with us, especially when it comes to seeing local sports and news. It really comes down to providing that product that fits their expectations and moves seamlessly between services they're choosing are with the ability to use their own devices, stated Warmath.
Twyman added, Competitors such as Hulu or YouTube TV now cost $70-80 by themselves and don't give you all the content that we can provide the customer. And, with the box rental costs not associated with the new service on the CAPEX side, I think it is a more profitable situation. Traditionally, you would have spent all your money on the CAPEX side and keeping the headend going.
Reaping the many benefits of a compelling consumer offering
Along the way of implementing the new solution, the panelists uncovered surprising insights with both consumers and their own teams. These learnings shed light on how smaller service operators can create a compelling consumer offering with many benefits.
The television is not the only platform anymore. It has amazed us, particularly in the plus-55 community, how open and excited they are about being able to have different viewing options. When we first introduced this to our customers, we thought our take rate for devices such as Firesticks would be really focused on our younger tech' community. But what has been a shocker is that our plus-55 community is successfully using the Firesticks today, noted McLaughlin.
Twyman added, This product can be launched in less than 30 minutes for a whole house. And, you're giving the customer DVR services from their mobile device, their iPad; there are just so many different variations of what you're giving the customer that they would never get from a traditional system. Once customers experience it, they don't want to ever go backward. Additionally, 1Tennessee has experienced a pleasant surprise from a technician side of things as well. No one wants to go into a house and rewire five boxes that will go away in the future anyway.
Final words of advice from the experts
When asked how do you overcome the financial hurdles to make the transition to IPTV? The panelists each shared advice for operators considering the switch.
Do your research. Find a good solution provider that will work with you and help you fill some of the holes that you don't already have on your team, some that will be committed to making it happen, stated Warmath.
McLaughlin added, There are many legacy providers out there claiming to do IPTV. But when you look underneath the hood, it's basically an add-on to what they have been providing. Although there's a significant investment in this, at the end of the day, the return on our investment we feel is very reasonable. If you're looking at a smaller customer base, it amazing how affordable this is.
NAGRA plays an important role in helping operators transition to IPTV to serve consumers and customers better. We work with its partners to deliver a fully-featured hybrid streaming solution powered by the OpenTV Video Platform. The solution enables operators to optimize the customer experience against their local requirements. With a low-touch market entry proposition, this turn-key solution is designed to deliver the benefits of a tier-1 solution without the hefty price tag.
The webinar is accessible in its entirety to learn more from panelists on how your pay-TV business can benefit from this inn
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Deepens Partnership with Taiwan's 62nd Golden Hors...
25/11/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, an investigative journalist from Kenya is the winner of the Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist Award 2025.
The 26-year-old-sele...
25/11/2025
SVG All-Stars: Blayke Scheer, Senior Director, Creative Content, YES NetworkThe Indiana alum has turned storytelling into an artform for more than two decadesBy...
25/11/2025
Op-Ed: With FCC's C-Band Auction on the Horizon, Broadcasters Need Proven, C...
25/11/2025
Analysis: Is Baller League really the future of sport? By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:10
Print This Story
With KSI on...
25/11/2025
Platinum Whitepaper: The Growth of Broadcast in the World of Major Large Scale E...
25/11/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: SVG Women's Sports WorkshopBy Samantha Gabay
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:27 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlig...
25/11/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CacheFly's Matt Levine on the Evolving Role of th...
25/11/2025
Peacock's EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast Levels Up on Thanksgiving With SkyCam as...
25/11/2025
Mathias Broe attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Sauna at Library Center Theatre. (Photo by Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Fes...
25/11/2025
The best playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks bring a little extra magic to your daily routine. With new features and offerings, Spotify Premium delivers even mo...
25/11/2025
Comprehensive new research confirms what we already knew: Australian music fans love the quality, quantity, and access they have to new and local music on strea...
25/11/2025
Applicable Products
Objectives The purpose of this application note is to give a brief background on 5G (NR) wireless communication an explain the reason a SN...
25/11/2025
Nielsen will now measure both Lionsgate's FAST channel MovieSphere and Movie...
Succeeding in Video by Enhancing the Viewing Experience
