New York - Discovery Communications president and CEO David Zaslav told an audience at the Paley Center for Media in NYC Wednesday that he was "disappointed" with the sluggish rollout of TV Everywhere type authentication services, adding that if cable, satellite and telco distributors don't pick up the pace new competitors will do it for them.
Speaking at the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame and Paley Center for Media's TV 3.0 Summit, What's Next? event Zaslav said that TV Everywhere could be a vital tool in differentiating services and content, especially if the parties figure out how to measure it properly.
"If we could reach agreement where all content would be available [and] if [it's] measured, that could be a big advantage for both of us," Zaslav said, adding that the biggest problem is that the industry has been talking about the service for three years. He likened the current climate for TV Everywhere to the early days of the video on demand industry, when customers were disappointed to find the shows they wanted to watch on demand weren't available.
"If it doesn't happen, you will see someone else coming in," Zaslav said, most likely through over-the-top competition. "When that happens, then there will be a race for everyone to offer it."
