HBO is one of the most successful pay television networks in the US and across the world. Beginning in the early 1970s as a small local cable service when the technology was still in its infancy, they launched with just 356 subscribers in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.
They were still a young company when in 1975 they made the jump to satellite, turning what had been a small local subscription service into something that potentially had national reach. In 1982, just one decade after their launch they had 15 million subscribers.
Today, HBO is a global giant known for creating awarding winning programming and, as a prime example of disrupting the market, many lessons can be learned…
A Success Based on Recognising and Fulfilling Customer Demand
HBO built its early success on a crucial understanding of its business. It wasn’t selling a television service, it was making top-quality entertainment such as movies and sport, more easily available. The clue was in the brand name, Home Box Office. This was blockbuster entertainment delivered to your TV set without the need to leave the house, queue for a ticket or travel to the venue.
The business focus in the early days was all about satisfying this consumer demand and it was this approach that gave them the edge over the incumbent competition.
The Key to Successful Disruption is Spotting and Then Satisfying Consumer Demand
Few industries are untouched by digital transformation, but it’s a common mistake to believe that it’s the technology itself that causes the disruption. The technology helps make consumer demands more achievable, and those companies that step up to satisfy that demand using the technology will be the ones who experience rapid growth.
New expectations of service and convenience can leave incumbents looking sluggish and uncompetitive. The value that consumers are looking for is defined by the consumers themselves, and successful companies work out how to deliver that value making use of technological innovation.
Time to Embrace Digital Transformation
Digital has changed the way in which people connect, watch and create, and how we think and imagine those activities. As an Operator, this challenges you to think again about how your service best responds to changing consumer demand. Consumers expect better content, better bundling and more accessible delivery. They also want issues minimised, and those that do arise, quickly resolved.
Can you make customer service more immediate? How can you use analytics to anticipate and correct problems before they arrive? By centering your customer view around lifetime value using data to offer a continually more responsive service your company can quickly develop an edge.
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Digital transformation – Four New Imperatives for TV Operators explores this in more detail, outlining what the road ahead might look like and how Operators can best take advantage of the evolving digital terrain.
