Would video-on-demand by any other name be easier to market? The cable
industry is locked in a war of words over that issue.
Industry jargon frequently drifts into common usage, leaving marketers stuck
with consumer-unfriendly terms like "DOCSIS cable modems" (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) or the big mistake:
pay-per-view (which emphasizes cost rather than choice or convenience).
Cox Communications Inc. chief operating officer Pat Esser fired a new shot during an earnings conference call last
week, repeatedly referring to VOD as "entertainment on-demand," or
EOD.
Then there is the pet phrase of Discovery Communications Inc. chairman John Hendricks:
"file-served television."
Steve Brenner, CEO at movie clearinghouse In Demand L.L.C., is pushing "IControl,"
which some operators are adopting in marketing materials and others hate.
Warner Bros. vice president for pay TV Jeff Calman (or should that
be "Convenience TV?") wouldn't go that far, but he said, "We think it should be some
variety of 'on-demand.' That's what people know."
