Cox’s new over-the-top TV service FlareWatch could point...
Cox’s new over-the-top TV service FlareWatch could point to a solution for pay-TV providers losing business to streaming services like Netflix, IHS said Wednesday. FlareWatch, currently in beta testing, is the first OTT subscription TV service provided by a pay-TV…
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operator that isn’t tied to a cable TV subscription, IHS said. Instead, the service is open to customers of Cox’s high-speed data packages. It offers customers close to 100 “popular” channels and a DVR, and costs $39.99 a month, $30 cheaper than an average cable subscription, said IHS. It doesn’t include a “TV Everywhere” offering, it said. “FlareWatch represents Cox’s attempt to regain business lost to a new generation of ‘cord-cutters’ and ‘cord-nevers,'” said IHS analyst Erik Brannon in the release. He said it’s “likely to be the first of a new generation of products from other cable operators that will take a[n] ‘if-you-can’t beat ‘em-join-'em’ approach to tackling the OTT challenge.” However, FlareWatch generates profit at much lower margins than does cable-delivered video, Brannon said. “Any positive margin is better than no margin when customers purchase a video product,” he said. “There is likely enough headroom to be profitable, but not on par with typical cable margins.” The service also gives Cox an opportunity to get non-cable subscribers to buy a video package, said IHS, calling the service Cox’s way of “loss-leading its way back into cord-never homes."