TelcoTV: Content developer acquisitions unlikely

DALLAS--Content company executives for the most part don’t believe in the possibility that telcos could acquire or invest in studios and other content developer to help them create exclusive content for their IPTV efforts. The issue was raised on a keynote panel at the TelcoTV conference and expo here by moderator Bethany Gorfine, president and CEO of Federal Hill Communications.

Posed with the question of whether or not it could happen, Jon Cody, vice president of digital media at Twentieth Century Fox, paused for a long moment and then said, “not with my P&L.” He then added, “Well, sure, maybe, as their platforms get built out, they will look for opportunities, but there will be regulatory challenges to efforts to create exclusivity, and the money is rarely on the table for exclusivity to make sense.”

Gene Pao, executive director of business strategy and development at Disney and ESPN Media Networks, added, “It really doesn’t make sense, with the advertising and distribution model for TV content.”

Pao also said telcos looking for lucrative revenue sharing agreements with content players also must understand that such deals must make sense for the content companies, too. “We look forward to working with telcos because they will have an advanced platform for distribution, but the value proposition has to make sense for us, too. We’re in a business just like the telcos, where return on investment is very important.”