Cable Operators Warned of Weak End-User Experience

AdAge.com: -- Consumers are no longer satisfied with simply accessing cable company video content; they increasingly want control over the context in which they experience it. That's according to Jeffrey Rayport, speaking at the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) conference in Boston this week. The marketing consultant, textbook author and former Harvard Business School professor, told cable executives that they must reinvent their industry as "Cable 3.0," and create the digital tools needed to empower its end users.
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Mr Rayport, you can bang my drum any time

The key takeaway from this snippet is

"Not adjusting fast enough to meet the changing expectations of their digital consumers"

These digital consumers in a couple of years, will be everyone. And the early adopters/early majority who are there now, well, they'll be on to the next thing by then.

And it isn't only about advertising potential, it extends to a person's experience with all forms of entertainment. The rise of home theatre systems has helped to mould that and as more homes integrate computer technologies into their large screen televisions, growth will continue. Implying that the activities a person engages in at home on their TV/computer will continue to change.

So, if the existing cable/network companies don't adjust to the new needs of consumers, other companies will come in to meet consumer demand, steal share and then we'll see the same tears we've seen with the record industry.

If corporations decide to bite the bullet and adjust to these changes, I think you'll actually see more marketing opportunities arise in the long term.

and I say this humbly, and with enormous respect as an outsider. Oh, and best of luck in standing out from the multitude of content that will be present at that time!