Viacom CEO Bob Bakish took up the mantle of skinny bundles at the MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit in New York May 18, adding that the industry needs to develop a non-sports entertainment bundle at a lower price that will appeal to price-conscious customers.
“We fundamentally believe the market will segment, there will be a low-end entry point, a mid-priced entry point and a higher end,” Bakish said. “The guys in the middle, the [ones charging] $40 [per month], they can’t survive there, it costs too much. Broadcast and sports rights cost too much to contribute margin.”
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Bakish pointed to the United Kingdom, where half of pay TV customers don’t take sports.
“That leads to people looking for different options,” he said.
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