BOSTON -- Is Netflix a friend or foe to the traditional cable TV companies? Cox Communications CEO Patrick Esser says it's a "frenemy."
There's no question that Netflix and other over-the-top Internet-based video services have shaken things up for traditional TV distributors and content owners. But is Netflix destroying the cable industry's business model?
Cox's Esser acknowledged Wednesday during a panel discussion at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association's Cable Show that there are times when Netflix may compete for an audience with cable TV providers. But as a broadband provider, he also said it was a very important service to his customers, and therefore it's important to him.
"In the month of March, 40 percent of our customers had streamed Netflix content," he said. "That tells me that it's a very important product to my customers. And if I want to live in the world of broadband access, I need to enable this to happen."
Indeed, cable operators not only deliver video services to customers, but they also provide high-speed Internet access. These networks are the platforms on which Netflix, Hulu, and other online video services are delivered. And even though the relationship between the two sets of companies has at times been contentious, there's also a reality that the companies and the industries themselves are dependent on each other.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, said that Netflix is not... [Read more]
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