A Quick Look Back at NATPE 2019
NAPTE Miami 2019 is a wrap, and as always for content video creators, it’s like drinking from a fire hose. As we knew going into the meeting, OTT has transformed from a side show to a main event. There are more than 125 premium OTT networks now, both live and Video on Demand that offer guaranteed impressions with actual data and precision targeting. OTT thrives on consumer choice, so the niche programming we promised in the multi-channel satellite and cable universe is even more diverse in OTT.
Because the programming market is really a global one more so than ever, international trends are among the most important to watch now. One global survey indicated that the average person consumes 5 hours of audiovisual content per day, with 71% from traditional broadcast and cable, the other 29% is now OTT. Among the younger demographic, ages 16-34, the broadcast share is 46%. So broadcast share is shrinking while OTT spikes.
With wired broadband spreading exponentially, it’s more likely OTT will continue to expand its reach with it. The advent of 5G which can offer latency and speed performance to rival fiber (without digging up your yard) and is only going to make the OTT business model more viable.
Pay TV is becoming Pay as You Go, as more and more a la carte options emerge. That is also good for OTT. Will HBO some day have more OTT viewers than on basic cable or satellite? I think so, and very soon. The video ad market once controlled by networks and cable now belongs to players like Google and Facebook (which have 58%) and Amazon (4% but growing quickly).
While web-based OTT video is an increasingly important delivery medium, old-fashioned OTA (over the air) is surprisingly robust, growing 48% in the past eight years. Currently 16 million American TV homes receive their TV content over the airwaves via antenna. Everything that is old is new again. And speaking of that, NAPTE is importantly also a time to honor the legends of our industry.
The 16th Annual NAPTE Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Awards were particularly memorable, honoring Byron Allen, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Entertainment Studios (and proud new owner of the Weather Channel among other cable channels), Betty White, Henry Winkler, Rita Moreno and others, with Gloria Estefan and Sean Hayes among the luminaries supporting the honorees. Talent like that knows no bounds regardless of the technology of the delivery medium.
To learn more about some of the programming I’m working to support, go to https://www.dalecardwellinvestigates.com and www.coffeewithamerica.com and www.allhealthtv.com
Questions, comments, reach out!