HMV is entering the online download space to perpetuate a brand that once adorned 78s, writes Julian Clover.
There is the perception at least that the pay-TV business model is beginning to shift. In the United States there was a minor outbreak of hysteria when the term cord cutting was introduced to describe the consumers move towards the new over-the-top services such as Netflix.
Slowly there has been a realisation that maybe it is not quite as bad as all that, ‘cord shaving’ instead implying that while the consumer may be tempted by the movie offers that OTT is able to deliver, there’s still nothing like the full service package offered by cable, DTH or IPTV. Additional services from the pay-TV operators perhaps hiding what might otherwise be a drop in ARPU.
If you think that pay-TV has problems here, take a look on the high street, where the book of excuses is permanently open. If the weather isn’t too warm, it’s too cold, though it could be down to Easter being early or was it late this year?
No where is this more true than in the retailers of packaged media; names such as the Virgin Megastore, or whatever it rebranded to, are no longer present and Borders shut up shop to be replaced locally by TK Maxx.
HMV, a brand that has endured for a good 85 years, has struggled to find a place for itself in the world of electronic downloads. What makes its latest attempt to enter the new century is that its white knight is a company with its routes in the UK cable industry.
FilmFlex was spun out of the On Demand Group, which had been established by the late Andy Birchall, and later sold to software and technology company Seachange. Since 2008 Sony and Disney have owned it.
What provides a neat twist is that hmvon-demand has on its roadmap plans to be present on a number of devices beyond that of the PC environment where it is making its debut. None have been specified, but you can bet that the now pre-requisite apps for iPad and Android are already on the drawing board. The more adventurous would also look to the gaming consoles and dare one say YouView and maybe even the type of open platform being touted by cable.
Nipper will be listening.
