In today s highly competitive world, a sustainable competitive advantage is the key to success. A competitive advantage gives a reason for customers to choose one service over another and prevents the services from becoming commodities. Because Congress has forced the cable industry to share the cable networks it financed and developed with other video providers, there is a real danger that the multichannel video industry might become commoditized. For a while, cable had an advantage in being the source of local broadcasts without the problems of consumer antennas. Now, in many locations, DBS can provide the local broadcasters.
Cable needs something a competitive advantage that is a bit more lasting, more sustainable.
VOD is that advantage. The CED Consulting Engineers group was unanimous in saying that cannibalization may be an issue for the networks, but not for cable operators. One member stated that he hopes there is cannibalization, because that would hurt DBS a lot more than it would harm cable. No one disagreed. One member ventured that a recent CTAM study suggested that cannibalization would not be a significant problem.