• Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Media Info
    • Terms & Conditions for Advertisers
    • Mechanical Data

Broadband TV News

Independent. Since 2003

  • Home
  • News Line
    • Central & East Europe
    • People
  • TV
    • On Demand/VOD
    • IPTV
    • Cable
    • Satellite
    • Terrestrial
    • Distribution
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Columns
    • Chris Dziadul
    • Julian Clover
    • Robert Briel
  • Events
    • Events Diary
    • BTN Events
    • Events Coverage
    • Submit the details of your event
  • Features
  • Resources
    • White Papers

Oege Boonstra: FANGA haunts the television industry

December 20, 2017 18.20 Europe/London By Oege Boonstra

It appears that the television industry is being haunted by a ghost named FANGA. An acronym for the companies that bring a lot of different emotions to the board rooms of big television companies: excitement and joy to the international production companies who are welcoming new customers, but fear to broadcasters and others who depend on the ad revenue of their channels.

Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google and Apple have been watching the television market with eager eyes. Apparently, video is the best way forward to effectively reach consumers online – which is no different from television. And except for Netflix, all these companies have been struggling a long time to become a successful part of television’s magic.

Today, it’s slowly becoming clear what traditional media companies are to expect… BBC‘s Tony Hall and ProSiebenSat1 ’s Thomas Ebeling are two of many execs who are a warning for big threats that are developing right now. Hall came up with a reasonably thought-through analysis and concluded that the FANGAs would gain substantial market share. Because these companies would invest relatively little in British content, he said he expected that this would cost the British production sector £ 500 million in five years’ time. Hall’s analyses are always valued in the British TV sector and raised many eyebrows.

Ebeling, who saved ProSiebenSat1 from bankruptcy, was even more blunt on the subject. He also came to the not so startling conclusion that TV viewing time is under pressure and, as a result, the TV advertising market is going to stagnate. His conclusions were remarkable: TV channels should focus mainly on the elderly and during the last briefing to investors he qualified this group as a ‘couch potato’ audience. It resulted in a storm of criticism and even led to the fall of this decisive manager.

The FANGAs are already making victims before they have even seriously started. There is a lot ahead of us. Netflix has been a blessing for producers so far, but will undoubtedly produce more under its own label. Moreover, Netflix always buys global rights, which means that producers lose income from lucrative international sales. Apple takes it a step further and will invest heavily in content: they hired Jay Hunt (former program director of the British Channel 4) and will undoubtedly also introduce a OTT proposition.

The broadcasters are also facing a considerable challenge in the field of sports rights. Amazon has already manifested itself in the field of tennis and they’re also hunting for sports rights. FNG & A are on the lookout as well. Thanks to their worldwide presence, they can make much larger budgets available and further hurt the broadcasters’ business model. After all, live broadcast of sports is an important way for broadcasters to remain relevant and attract a mass audience.

Another fundamental development is cord cutting, which is already booming in the US. This development is also noticeable in the Netherlands. Consumers are less and less interested in buying a package with channels that they do not really look at. Broadcasters in Holland were used to the consistent revenue stream of cable fees for many years (retransmission fees), but here too, the demand curve will shift to the left.

The traditional players are challenged in all areas. The game has started, in the boardrooms top managers are busy finding solutions. Disney appears to have found one with the acquisition of a number of 21st Century Fox assets. Hollywood is building defence walls against Silicon Valley …

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Speaker's Corner Tagged With: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Oege Boonstra Edited: 21 December 2017 15:27

About Oege Boonstra

Oege Boonstra is a partner in 3Rivers. He gained international working experience (in South Africa and Germany) in the first years following his studies in physical planning. After that at the end of the 1990s, he became a member of the management board of NOB. He started working as an independent management consultant in 2000. Since then, he has taken on a series of consultancy and interim assignments for Endemol, Talpa, Warner Bros. and various sports organisations. He has also played a large number of supervisory roles (supervisory directorships) at media companies both in the Netherlands and abroad.
Oege has comprehensive knowledge of the international television market and primarily focuses on strategy development, M&A and international market research.

Latest News

  • Samba TV enters Spanish market with Smartclip
  • Amagi announces over 100% revenue growth
  • LaLiga to use AI technology
  • TVP World grows YouTube figures
  • Component crisis hits Teleste

Watch Video

24i on app development and viewer recommendations – ANGA COM Roundup Video

Julian Clover speaks to 24i's Sales Director Operator Solutions, Lennart Broers, about how apps are becoming more important to pay-TV operators, and the recent acquisition of recommendations company The Filter. … [Watch Now ...]

Xperi on using AI to identify your audience – ANGA COM Roundup Video

Patrick Byrden, Xperi's VP of Business Development & Strategy, tells Julian Clover how the company is using AI to detect who is watching the TV, and providing them with more relevant content. … [Watch Now ...]

Free Ebook

eBook: The Full Guide to IP Monitoring

IP is the future of your facility, if not already your everyday reality. It enables incredible agility and cost savings, but also introduces a new set of challenges. Read The Full Guide to IP Monitoring to learn about the best practices for IP monitoring in live production, playout and OTT and the methods to help you to reduce complexity in these workflows. … [Download the eBook...]

Broadband TV News

  • Subscribe
  • About us
  • Contacts
  • Logos & Pictures
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Advertising

  • Media Info
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Mechanical Data
  • Video Services

News

  • Latest
  • Central & East Europe
  • TV
  • Tech
  • Streaming
  • Cable
  • Satellite
  • Terrestrial
  • IPTV
  • Business
  • People

Events

  • Events Diary
  • BTN Events
  • Submit the details of your event
  • Media Meet & Greet

Broadband TV News

PO Box 499
Cambridge
United Kingdom
CB1 0AH
news@broadbandtvnews.com

Connect with Us

 

Copyright © 2022 Broadband TV News LLP · Log in

 

Loading Comments...
 

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OK