Like every year, we start off 2011 with the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It’s a great opportunity to meet with customers and partners because virtually every tech company in the world is in town (including ClearAccess).
The mainstream media loves CES and the industry trends it reveals, but with Apple and Google not in attendance the show can only go so far. I enjoyed this article which points out how last year’s big newcomer, 3DTV, was dead on arrival, and a prediction that the same fate awaits most of the 80+ tablets on display this year because they are not iPads.
Last year at CES over-the-top (OTT) video really had a coming out party, but as Fortune magazine correctly points out, right now it’s kind of a mess. This whole movement was based on creating alternatives to the traditional service providers and high-priced bundles, instead we’ve seen confusion over content rights and legal debates over bandwidth carriage. As nice as having Hulu and Netflix everywhere sounds, the existing structure between studios, distributors, and advertisers makes this all a zero-sum game for the consumer. I think it will be years before people drop their cable or satellite provider in great numbers, and in the meantime the OTT services will remain complementary to traditional video service.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on all the news and announcements this week and how they might impact the broadband market in 2011!
Last modified on Wednesday, 25 January 2012 00:07
Steve Gorretta
Director of Product Management