ABSTRACT
As a relatively newer challenger to traditional media incumbents such as print and broadcast media, multichannel media firms or multichannel video programming distribution (MVPD) services dramatically altered not only the competitive dynamics in the television industry but also audiences’ viewing behavior since the 1980s. The MVPD market continues to evolve and remain a powerful contender as technological advances brought forth the Internet, digitization, broadband, and interactivity. Adopting the strategic framework proposed in chapter 2, this chapter first examines the economic, technological, political, and sociocultural changes that have influenced the MVPD industry and continue to discuss the factors that have affected the competitive dynamics of the MVPD market. Because cable television and DBS services comprise more than 96% of all MVPD subscriptions in the United States (Standard & Poor’s, 2004), this chapter focuses on addressing these two multichannel video media.
