Pay TV grows in Latin America, distributed via OTT

The pay TV distribution model via OTT, called linear OTT pay TV, is growing in Latin America, albeit slowly. However, it is a clear trend. In the US, it is a reality already, with the difficulty that the average income per user is low. Nevertheless, in the region, where pay-TV services are offered at low prices, in relation to the US, some progress has been made.

These and others are the conclusions of the panel “How pay TV via OTT is going to change TV,” that took place in NexTV Series in Mexico City. The participants were Gerardo Seifert, CMO of Megacable, José Antonio Hidalgo, VP and general manager for Mexico at Sony Pictures Television, and Silvestre Merino, general manager of Globetek México and Consulting Sales manager at Verimatrix. The panel was chaired by Ariel Barlaro, VP Americas at Dataxis.

Another of the findings is that it is increasingly necessary to find in one place the contents users want to see, with technological solutions that enable switching between the different pay TV or linear platforms or services

“Not necessarily what applies in the US, with very high arches—because the cost of the service is very high—applies in Latin America. In Mexico, arches are already very small,” said José Antonio Hidalgo, after stating that what is coming is an operator who offers all the services in a single bill, with a programming guide that accompanies the user.

Regarding the arrival of the Disney OTT, although the quality of their products and the fact that they have a specific market is renowned, Hidalgo mentioned that Crackle’s offer places it in another level since they have an offer with a very specific curation.