Next year will be marked by mega media deals, and everything is going mobile as media and tech converge, predicts
CNBC media and entertainment reporter Julia Boorstin.
Look for some of the biggest deals to be among cable operators, Boorstin writes.
She says people familiar with the matter revealed that Comcast is currently looking at the possibility of buying Time Warner Cable, and has hired JP Morgan as an adviser.
Editor’s Note: Pastor Explains His Biblical Money Code for Investing
It will be interesting to see how a confluence of forces will come into play next year as Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox and Charter Communications examine consolidation plays, she writes.
Mega-deals in the cable industry are possible and desirable because cable companies are no longer just competing with each other, but also with satellite, telecom, and streaming video companies, she adds.
Boorstin forecasts a growing number of digital content acquisitions. She points to this year's deal in which DreamWorks Animation acquired YouTube's Awesomeness TV, a network for people who are building YouTube channels.
Traditional media companies are aiming for a better understanding of online video, she explained. A lot of advertising dollars are at stake and traditional media companies want a slice of the pie.
One “transformation” consumers will see in 2014 is that media giants will embrace digital distribution.
They'll sell more content to companies such as Netflix, Amazon and Microsoft. Streaming video will be mainstream, Boorstin predicts.
Consumers will see apps from cable, satellite, telecoms and broadcasters — as companies try to ensure consumers can access live TV anytime, anywhere, she adds.
Verizon is one of the companies exploring its options, according to
The Hollywood Reporter.
Last week at a UBS investor conference, Verizon Chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam reportedly said the company is looking to increase its offering of mobile content, particularly sports.
Using an NFL app and partnering with CBS, Verizon has already live streamed the SuperBowl. And McAdam said he's had discussions with CBS's CEO, Leslie Moonves, about “how to bring more content out of the house.”
Though kinks remain to be worked out on certain issues, McAdam cited the likelihood that consumers may get mobile access to more sporting events, but perhaps with a delay so as not to “cannibalize” live audiences.
“Within the next two years, you will see some dramatic changes in viewership,” The Hollywood Reporter says he predicted.
And according to Boorstin, the mobile transformation won't be limited to sports or even broadcasting.
Mobile access will be so ubiquitous that the distinction between traditional and digital content will disappear.
Prepare for everything — social networking, retail and video content — to go mobile, she writes. And get ready for an era where a desktop website, without a mobile counterpart, is the exception, not the rule.
Editor’s Note: Pastor Explains His Biblical Money Code for Investing
Related Articles:
© 2023 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.