Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries says there are lessons to be learnt from over-the-top steamer Netflix, but made it clear cable would have the final say.
“We’re learning something from Netflix. Consumers are wanting access to content on multiple devices,” Fries said in a Bloomberg interview recorded at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. “They would love to be able to integrate content and apps on the television screen, they’d love to have that on the cable interface, and we’ve sorted that out.”
UPC Cablecom launched its Horizon entertainment platform in Switzerland on January 14.
“If you can provide them with what they want and all the content that they love, which just happens to be on cable, and the problem with Netflix is they can’t afford all the content. They have just a small amount”.
Fries ended the interview with a side-swipe at TiVo, a candidate for the UPC next generation platform, before UPC opted for its own technology development program. “Nobody gets their DVR from TiVo any more and no one will get their over-the-top services from Netflix when we’re done”.