Cable TV Network is Getting a Makeover. Here's What Businesses Need to Know

In recent decades, the way people have traditionally consumed television has changed. With the rise of the internet and streaming, consumers are no longer watching the news, sports and entertainment over a limited number of channels during scheduled times of the day. Instead, people have unlimited viewing options on mobile devices or smart TVs.

With these changes from analog to digital, cable companies and providers have found themselves at a time-sensitive crossroads — will they continue with business as usual or adapt to new technology and viewer preferences? 

As a business owner, your job is to satisfy your customers to keep them coming around. To ensure you provide the preferred viewing experience to your audience, you need to understand what has caused the switch to digitization and the benefits to you and your customers. 

What are the current changes in digitization?

There’s good news and bad news for cable companies and providers:

• After hitting a peak at 100.5 million paying households in 2013, cable operators are losing customers, leaving them scrambling to replace lost revenue.
• On the other hand, cable companies still account for 60 percent of home connections. 

Both realities are being driven by two factors in the shift toward digitization:

1. People prefer streaming.

An increasing number of viewers are shifting to streaming services and other digital media services because of the options — and this trend is likely to continue.

Web-based, over-the-top (OTT) media services — such as HBO Max, Hulu and Netflix — are causing subscribers to part ways with pay TV options. The trend toward streaming services has been coined “cord-cutting.”

And it isn’t just subscribers parting ways with pay TV. Advertisers have also noticed the trend and have begun shifting their dollars toward streaming services and digital channels to meet their prospects where they are. 

2. Streaming does not require significant troubleshooting.

In the past, if an issue with cable occurred, cable companies sent out a staff member to troubleshoot the issues, often requiring subscribers to miss a day of work to wait for the cable guy to arrive.

Today’s on-demand consumers no longer have to wait for a service provider to come to their homes to fix connectivity issues. Issues with the internet — the channel through which streaming services arrive — can be easily resolved by the customer or from a remote location by the internet provider, saving the customer time and money. 

What are the benefits of cable TV transformations?

Cable TV continues to advance to keep pace with streaming services and new customer demands.

In addition to providing high-definition video, digital cable providers have expanded their services to include pay-per-view programming, bundled cable telephone services and even internet connections to give customers access to streaming services. 

Here are the top benefits of digitized cable TV:

1. Less Interference 

Digital tuners — or devices that allow a TV to receive digital TV signals — remove interference from TV signals before they are converted into images and sounds. This eliminates the static-like distortion that could occur on analog televisions. 

2. Small Bandwidth Size

The signals used for digital TV are more compact than analog signals, meaning they take up less bandwidth space and create more reliable connectivity. 

3. HDTV

High-definition television (HDTV) provides a clearer, more realistic picture and better sound quality. 

4. Accessibility

With analog TVs, your options are limited. You can turn the TV on, adjust the volume and change the channel.

With digital cable TV, you can view the way you want. You can adjust a number of settings, including the audio description, captions, settings for the hearing impaired and image contrast. 

5. Customization

Smart TVs lead the way in algorithmic channel and show suggestions, allowing the viewer to customize their experience. Plus, smart TVs learn what the viewer watches most often and saves channels so the viewer can easily jump back in rather than searching through a long list.

Keep your customers coming back with DOCOMO’s cable TV network.

At DOCOMO PACIFIC, we know your number one priority is to keep your customers happy and entertained. 

By implementing our dTV+, you get the best of both worlds — nearly two hundred television channels plus streaming services — so you can change the channel based on your customers’ preferences.

Want to take your business to the next level with dTV+? Connect with one of our team members.