Plans For Streaming TV Service From Cable Company Signals Shift In Priorities, Gary Nerlinger Says

Times have been tough for the traditional television broadcasting company. Between the millions of Americans who’ve already cut the cable TV cord once and for all, there’s the fact that online outlets are competing for the same advertising dollars. Add in the fact that many simply can’t afford the cost of cable and the realization that they are rarely planted in front of a TV long enough to enjoy it and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. It makes sense then that Comcast, a cable giant on the East Coast, is about to enter the streaming television fray with its “Instant TV.”

According to Consumer Reports, Comcast plans to roll out the Internet-based service come fall 2017 and plans to offer fewer channels than a typical cable TV package at a lower price. How much lower? Current estimates place the total at around $15 and $40 per month, which isn’t bad, says modern media expert Gary Nerlinger.

“If Comcast is targeting millennials with a ‘skinny’ TV package, more power to them,” says digital data expert Gary Nerlinger. “This generation spends most of the time on their smart phone – not in front of a television set – and while they may still enjoy some programs on TV today, they can’t afford the average monthly cable bill of $100.”

According to the Consumer Reports article, those who choose to subscribe to Instant TV will be able to stream the content on their mobile devices and possibly “smart” TV sets. One of the driving ideas behind this service is that outlets like Netflix are largely based around movies and original content; the fact that shows from programmers such as ABC or NBC don’t have an established foothold in streaming services at the moment means there’s room for improvement. Factoring for plans from Hulu and YouTube to roll out similar streaming services means that the realm of entertainment is about to get a little bit more competitive.

“I think that many people have just decided to ignore the offerings of the old broadcasters, get a relatively cheaper subscription to Hulu and conclude that one form of entertainment is as good as another,” said Gary Nerlinger. “What Comcast is saying with its Instant TV plans is that there’s room for more platforms on the digital frontier and they are going to invest the time and effort into offering a quality service.”

Major League Baseball’s Live-Stream Deal With Facebook A Winner, Gary Nerlinger Says

As Facebook’s promotion of its live video broadcasting capabilities continues, the social media giant has teamed up with Major League Baseball (MLB) to broadcast a number of regular season games, according to a May 2017 Business Insider report. There will be 20 games streamed live that users of the social media resource will be able to view via a live stream. According to Gary Nerlinger, a respected leader in the media industry, this partnership is a great way for the MLB to increase its presence and allows Facebook to put its technology toward a worth-while resource.

According to the Business Insider report, this partnership provides a great opportunity to get more eyeballs on sports games. Given the recent trend of cable television customers cutting the proverbial cord with their service provider -- not to mention recent layoffs at ESPN and lackluster viewership of the NFL’s 2016-17 season -- turning to social media could be just what nation sports franchises need.

“Social media use has exploded while time spent in front of the traditional television is on the decline,” said Gary Nerlinger, an expert on live-streaming high-definition entertainment media. “With this in mind, it’s crucial for sports teams – which are still immensely profitable organizations – to find new ways of reaching viewers and maybe filling more seats in the stadiums.”

The MLB-Facebook partnership, while novel, isn’t exactly new. Business Insider adds that the MLB live-streamed some 2011 spring training games on its Facebook page. Naturally, a regular season competition will have much more pull than spring training, Gary Nerlinger notes. Per the Business Insider report, Amazon paid $50 million for the rights to show the National Football League’s 2017-2018 Thursday Night Football games. That figure is a five-fold increase over what Twitter -- which already has the rights to stream National Hockey League games -- paid in 2016 for the same NFL games, according to the report.

“More and more, it’s looking like live-streaming is going to become the premier means of connecting with audiences,” said Gary Nerlinger. “Whether it’s users of the social media platform showing off what they’re up to or entities like MLB opting to find a new medium, the pitfalls appear to be few indeed.”