Study: Telco TV Must Rely on Price

Lower prices will be the biggest incentive for consumers to switch to telco TV from cable or direct-broadcast satellite, according to a new report from Lyra Research Inc.

“Our survey findings overwhelmingly support that telcos' best strategy for breaking into video and establishing initial market share will be to undercut cable's triple-play pricing,” Steve Hoffenberg, principal analyst for the “DTV View” report series and Lyra's director of electronic-media research, said in a prepared statement.

“This situation will further squeeze the finances of the telcos as they attempt to recoup billions of dollars in fiber-optic infrastructure investments while likely incurring network-carriage fees higher than what cable operators pay,” he added.

Lyra’s report, “Dialing for Viewers: 2005 Telco-TV Interest Survey,” was based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted in December and January.