Telefónica: We have to be more efficient with the pay TV proposal

Gustavo Castro, Content Manager for Latin America, Telefónica, recommended to both programmers and operators to rationalize and be more efficient with the pay TV proposal, otherwise pay TV penetration will continue to drop.

Castro participated in the panel participated in the panel “The Evolution of Linear Channels and the Multichannel Offer” d during the closing day of NEXTV Content Distribution Latin America Series of Dataxis. The panel also included Fabiola Paravisini, Director of OTT Content at VIVOplay; Vanessa Rosas Molina, COO of Blim TV, and Eduardo Arias, Senior Director of Content Alliances at Pluto TV.

“The reality is that in Latin America we don’t have curd-cutting, but a lot of cord-never. What is happening is inflation with a growth of many channels at the same time, which are not differential, which generate a lot of cost for programmers. There is a lot of content on pay TV going to the platforms. We have to think about what entertainment model is going to be and how the TV will adjust to it. It is a paradigm shift. Now they are considering you for the bundles, for the joint offer,” said Castro.

Paravisini of VIVOplay said that in Venezuela they saw an opportunity to offer an MVPD, with 22 basic channels, for a lower cost, with easy access, without any additional equipment and without antennas. “Simply, with any device connected to the Internet, the user has access to that linear content.” She added that now with ISPs they are also going to Ecuador, Peru and rural areas that do not have access to cable or an antenna installation, but have a dedicated Internet and a mobile device. “We have gone there to meet those needs in the market.”

They also discussed binge watching versus weekly episode premieres. For Castro it depends on the series and the business model. “Netflix made binge watching possible,” and noted that there are series with costs around US $ 170 million plus the promotion budget, and placing all the available episodes at once generates traction for only about three weeks. “It all depends on the business model.” He mentioned the case of Disney+ where there are weekly premieres.