Here's Why Cable And Telecom Companies Have The Best Information About Consumers

Mobile and video companies are getting a lot of attention in the press regarding their ability to address the shift in consumer habits. 

This “ability” banks on TV being replaced by online video or augmented dramatically by the use of mobile devices.   What the press is missing or avoiding is the power of the last mile.  
The mobile companies and services riding on a mobile device have solved the expensive problem of getting into the home, but have yet to crack the code for generating piles of cash from amassing and reaching audiences on these digital devices. 

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, broadband cable and telecom providers invested heavily in laying fat pipes all the way to your home.  Their goal was to improve service, provide more programming, add new services (e.g. Triple Play) and make every home a “connected” home.  Today, virtually every home in or near a major metro is cable-ready, has access to high-speed internet and, in many cases, is ultra-connected thanks to fiber optics.  Recently, thanks to the Connect America Fund, the FCC provided $300M in cash to the telecom and cable companies to bring broadband to rural America with the aim of providing Internet access to every American. 

By owning the pipe, and subsequent wiring, into most homes and, more importantly, the IP address that all consumer connected devices use to access the internet, these companies have the access to data that reveals your online behavior and how your devices communicate.   As a result, these companies can provide synchronized programming through the online experience.   These wired homes give providers like Time Warner, Comcast, Cablevision and Verizon enormous advantages over their mobile and service-focused competitors.  They can do simple things like manipulate the default channel on your TV or the homepage you visit every time you go online.  They can also do more advanced things like deliver advertisements across multiple screens in the home, which allows them to surround consumers with messaging without the use of cookies or user registration.
 Providing access to the control of the home experience has not yet been heavily promoted, but we are starting to see the telecom and cable companies flex their muscles. A friend recently mentioned to me that suddenly every TV (with a cable box) in her home was defaulting at start up to the local news station (owned by the cable company).  Today’s consumers can change this setting (deep within the menu system of course), but I can imagine a day when you turn on your TV and you are presented with a 30-second infomercial, providing consumers with the opportunity to fully engage and then get more info via VOD service or through another connected device in the home.   
This is just a single, simple example of how cable and telecom companies have enormous, unspoken power to leverage information known about viewing habits, home address, web behaviors and related purchases.  By owning the pipe into the home, providers like Time Warner, Comcast and Verizon have enormous advantage in helping brands reach the end consumer, perhaps with more success than they would via a mobile device.  This last mile may change the way consumers engage with brands.  When will we start seeing the full-potential or promotion?


Larry Allen, Real Media Group 
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