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- New cable TV interactive set-top services predicted to have similar prices as premium cable services (Winter 98) (Smart TV)
In the new Winter 98 issue of SMART TV magazine, a "Cable's Second Wind" article states "Cable has never seen TV like this before...." with regard to the new digital cable TV interactive set-top boxes. SMART TV reports Scientific-Atlanta's spokesperson Caroline March-Long suggesting, "Costs for the new set-top services will vary from service to service, but will probably be similar to what people pay now for premium cable services...." SMART TV then cites the examples of @Home-type prices of $29.95 to $49.95 per month plus one-time installation fee running between $99 and $175. SMART TV quotes Envision Group's Paul Ashcraft as stating, "I think the digital set-top box will be a success. The Internet will push it over the top."
Does this mean doom and gloom for telephone-line based set-top boxes? I don't think so. If you look at the computer market, you will see an awful lot of dialup telephone-modems around although there are cable-modems available for computers. Pricing for the hardware and for the internet service play big parts in the eternal battle of telephone vs. cable. And if you continue to look at the computer market, there are many consumers and businesses who are satisfied with 56K modem speeds because of the hardware and service prices although the faster cable speeds are very tempting.... InfoBeat previously reported on 8-3-98 that SRI Consulting predicted telephone connections for Interactive TV will have 60% of the market by 2002 and then interactive cable TV will later dominate in 10 years. However, CNET also reported on 8-3-98 that BancAmerica Robertson Stephens communications & network analyst Paul Johnson predicted telephone DSL will win over cable because telephone copper networks are entrenched and business will want to leverage their existing investments in the copper wire. Yes, cable will be successful, but telephone and cable will continue to exist side by side sniping at each other.
Related: MCI-Worldcom DSL pricing for consumers would appear to be more or less similar (11-18-98) (CNET)
Also see: Industry extremely skeptical of startup SilkRoad Inc. claims of inexpensive, high-speed, big-bandwidth fiber-optic (11-9-98) (InternetWorld)
I would guess low-cost 56K-modem settop boxes, modems, and services will continue to be around for sometime....
Look for the Winter 1998 issue of SMART TV at your local news stand.- Also See: Cable has to keep prices down despite need to pay for cable operators' upgrades for interactive services (12-2-98) (CNET)
AND WHAT SATELLITE PRICES CAN YOU GENERALLY EXPECT?
- WebTV blasts into satellite orbit: WebTV-capable EchoStar 7100 Satellite Receiver (Feb-99) (Club WebTV)
WebTV co-founder Phil Goldman talks a little bit about the WebTV-capable EchoStar 7100 Satellite Receiver and the WebTV Plus Service for Satellite. The new box will have a 8.6 gigabyte harddrive and will come installed with "Doom" and "You Don't Know Jack" games. As well as receiving satellite transmissions, the new box is also a "Digital Video Recorder" (DVR) meaning it is also a more-than-a-VCR device for recording TV shows. Goldman says this is "the very first ever Internet TV satellite product and service." The WebTV-EchoStar box provides a new way for watching TV. - EchoStar-WebTV satellite data access service aims for mass appeal (2-1-99) (Interactive Week)
ZDNet's Interactive Week reports the the EchoStar-WebTV box is "expected to cost about $500. The WebTV service will cost $24.95 per month."
PRICES SHOULD BE "CHEAP" TO ENCOURAGE WIDESPREAD USE - Entertainment moguls eagerly look at Interactive TV (10-26-98) (ZDNN)
PriceWaterhouseCoopers Global Convergence Summit agree that access to Internet TV was up for debate. Also agree that access should be as cheap as possible for there to be success. ZDNN quotes TCI President Leo Hindery talking about the need for standards: "What will distinguish us ethically is how common we can make this whole process. What detracted us early on was how elite we were. If [we] don't make [technology] commonly available, we fail."
PRICE WARS MAY LOOM WITH CUT-RATE PRICES AND FREEBIE GIVEAWAYS:FIRST, THE BSKYB SATELLITE SET-TOP BOX GIVEAWAYS
- Digital TV price war looms with BSkyB giveaway (5-5-99) (BBC)
- BSkyB giving away digital set-top boxes, cheap phone access, and free internet access to U.K. satellite dish subscribers (5-5-99) (CBS MarketWatch)
- BSkyB to provide free "Skynow" internet access beginning June 1 (5-5-99) (CBS MarketWatch)
"Free" and "cheap" (although the consumer may still have to pay one way or another) is perhaps the way to quickly build the necessary critical mass for widespread distribution of Internet on TV and Interactive TV services and to create the required audiences for future profitability of e-commerce via television. If you want to capture market presence now, you can either go with (or build) an "established" product or go with a "free" or "cheap" giveaway. Rupert Murdoch can do both with his BSkyB and the "free" boxes to try to capture a lion's share of the digital market. - Related: Finally free local calls for internet access in Europe (5-6-99) (TechWeb)
SECOND, THE WORLDGATE CUT-RATE CABLE SUBSCRIPTIONS PRICES
- 31 Cable TV Companies To Test WorldGate's Internet TV service (12-3-97) (InfoBeat Internet Daily)
InfoBeat reports that 31 cable TV companies agreed to test WorldGate Communications Inc.'s "Internet TV Over Cable" service. The service is supposed to go be introduced next year after testing. InfoBeat reports the monthly fee is supposed to be "as low as $4.95" which suggests perhaps $4.95 is really basic maybe bare-bones service? And you have to pay more to get more of the Internet? According to InfoBeat, "... WorldGate Service claims to be the cable industry's first interactive Internet service that uses a standard advanced analog or digital cable box, the existing TV set and a standard remote control." WorldGate is supposed to use a "Channel HyperLinking" technology so you can click from a TV show or TV commercial to a item on the web. According to InfoBeat, the Worldgate service is currently in four U.S. locations, and also in Asia and South America. - Cable Operators think Worldgate Internet TV not Cable Cash Cow? (9-12-97) (InfoBeat's Internet Daily)
InfoBeat reports that Aberdeen Research's Virgina Brooks says the cable industry will be slow to adopt the Worldgate technology: "The cable guys have the least savvy, I think, about doing this sort of information exchange." Media consultant Gary Arlen says the cable folks are looking at the bottom-line: "Where's the cash cow in this?" Worldgate is to be priced at $5 to $12 a month, but most cable Internet services are priced at $20 to $30 a month. - Worldgate & Cable TV Companies Challenge Microsoft Cable Internet TV Plans (9-11-97) (Reuters)
- Worldgate Communications Develops Strategy for Internet TV via Cable TV; Counter-Attack to Microsoft's Cable TV Plans for Internet (9-11-97) (NYT; requires subscription)
- Worldgate, Scientific Atlanta, Motorola, Etc. threaten Microsoft's Internet TV via Cable TV Plans (9-11-97) (InfoBeat)
InfoBeat reports on The New York Times report that Worldgate Communications, Scientific Atlanta, NextLevel Systems, Motorola, and Citicorp have formulated a strategy to will bring Internet TV access to Cable TV subscribers more quickly and at lower prices than Microsoft's Internet TV plans. Worldgate and partner cable companies plan to offer Internet TV service through a set-top converter box and a regular TV set for $12 a month in a few months (probably in limited areas at first through the partner cable companies). This is Cheap. And Cable Internet Access Is Fast. Will this force Reductions in current Cable TV Internet Prices for computer users & others (typically an extra $20-$30 on top of regular Cable TV costs)?? Will this force overall Reductions in monthly Internet costs for everyone else who accesses the Net via telephone lines etc.??? If so, Internet TV will definitely be here....THIRD, THE POWERCHANNEL TELEPHONE-BASED SET-TOP BOX FREEBIES
- PowerChannel's FreePCTV giveaway for TV watchers (4-12-99) (Business Wire) (alternate link)
FreePCTV CEO James Gambrell said, "Our goal was to make the Internet available in every family's living room. In less than a year we've developed a system to make that goal a reality. The launch of FreePCTV will radically change the current perception that the Web is off-limits to those individuals and families without a computer. Unlike other Internet service providers, we realize the main prohibitors of Internet access are a comfort level with the technology, the economics of PC ownership and Internet access. We have created a truly `one-click' service that will educate and entertain even the least tech-savvy households, while providing a rich consumer experience." FreePCTV subscribers get a telephone-based FreePCTV Internet connection box, wireless remote control, and keyboard. In exchange for free Internet access, subscribers have to answer a monthly, on-screen survey regarding purchasing habits and product preferences. PowerChannel is a New York-based company and FreePCTV is apparently only for U.S. consumers. - Ruel's Spotlight Website: FreePCTV (4-12-99)
- Ruel's Spotlight Website: PowerChannel (4-12-99)
- More Free Stuff: "You can have it all for Free" (5-3-99) (Virginian-Pilot Ledger-Post)
PowerChannel is expected to provide its FreePCTV set-top box service late this month. PowerChannel senior vp of data management Gary Blau said, "Our goal is not to oversaturate our customers with advertising.... Between 25 and 30 million (U.S.) households are connected to the Internet. That means 75 million households are not."
THE ETERNAL BATTLE OF TELEPHONE VERSUS CABLE: - Fast Lane on the Infobahn (11-23-98) (Newsweek)
Newsweek's Peter McGarth writes, "[A]sk yourself whether you really want high-speed access. There's room for skepticism.... [I]f your main use of the Web is for e-mail and to consult text-driven services like stock-market information, you may find old-fashioned dial-up ... all the speed you need, at least until [cable and DSL] prices come down." - Sign of Things to Come: DSL versus Cable (1-20-98) (CNET)
[T]his is one part of the background for the possible upcoming Internet TV set-top competition among manufacturers and between telephone-line connected boxes versus cable-TV connected boxes (any possible competition could become rather heated sometime next year in 1999). Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modems for super-fast telephone-modem connections look like they could equalize some if not all of any competition with cable TV. Putting the technical aspects aside, the big question for consumers is whether DSL services provided by the telcos will be priced affordably (and the ISPs will have to upgrade their modems). Although a lot of the talk concerns the predicted DSL modems for computers, don't be surprised if DSL-capable modems also show up in possible future versions of telephone-line connected Internet TV boxes.
[DSL IS HERE NOW for computers in various markets. And various manufacturers have announced that their telephone-based settop boxes will have options for DSL. NEWSWEEK magazine also recently reported on a G.lite version of DSL that is supposed to be cheaper and easier to install.]- See also: High-Bandwidth Net Capacity demands to be top issue in 1999 (12-6-98) (ZDNN)
- See also: High-Bandwidth for Telcos: Baby Bells & Computer Companies petition FCC to relax regs (12-7-98) (NYT)
- Related: Setting up a Bandwidth Market (12-7-98) (ABCNEWS)
- Interactive TV Top.Box.News
From the
Interactive TV Top.Box.News at Ruel.Net
Ruel's Selected News Items & Comments:
CABLE INTERACTIVE PRICES; CAN TELEPHONE-BASED SET-TOPS COMPETE?
TELEPHONE-BASED INTERNET PRICES ARE GENERALLY AROUND $19.95 to $24.95 PER MONTH
SO, WHAT CABLE PRICES CAN YOU GENERALLY EXPECT?
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