Another Sign The Web is Turning Into a TV Killer

MediaPosts’s Mark Walsh reports that TV networks are positioning themselves on a “slippery slope” as more programming moves to the Web putting the “combined $300 billion market valuation of the industry at risk.”

Walsh cites a new report from Soleil Securities analyst Laura Martin who argues that by offering single episodes of shows on-demand online — separate from pay TV packages like cable or satellite — they are letting consumers watch without funding other programming. She points to the music industry’s unbundling as a signpost. “The consumer is allowed to buy fewer tracks, thereby generating up to 60% less revenue than in the bundle,” she writes.

“Bottom line, the consumer is being retrained to view the TV as a lower price/value platform than the Web, which potentially threatens the TV platform’s price umbrella,” according to Martin.

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