This is a good blog post by Doug Dawson, one of the smartest people I know in the rural telco business. He's writing this not so much about Windstream but about the significance of this move to the industry and why he thinks this is a good idea. He expects Windstream and many others to drop the traditional cable TV business and go to a streaming only model.
https://potsandpansbyccg.com/2020/05/08/windstream-adding-youtube-tv/
its only a move a growth company can make.
When Windstream got into the IPTV business a few years ago we technicians told 2nd and 3rd level management that this was a mistake. We said that “traditional” tv is antiquated and that streaming is the future. Of course management didn’t listen us poor pitiful techs. They know what’s best. This is the same 2nd and 3rd level management that said (2 years ago) that customer’s didn’t need more than 15meg download. And we’ve had a company come into the city that is 100% fiber to the home and our management team said that they were 5 years too late to the party. My reaction is at least they were invited to the party. Our pathetic copper network isn’t on the invite list. The management teams from top to bottom in this company are great visionaries. Whatever their vision is do the opposite to get quality results.
Reminds me of the days when they gave away Roku’s to new customers. They went home plugged it in and it didn’t work. 45 people on a remote feed by 4 T-1’s. Heard a VP level planner say people would never need more the T-1 speed. Now that is a visionary. That is what winning looks like to me. Need to get Charlie Sheen to do a commercial chugging some tiger blood.
Windstream customers in ILEC areas dont have sufficient bandwidth to stream services like that. So those areas wont have any form of TV to watch as there are no competitors in the area either. Windstream being the only telco in those areas drives down home values.
LOL. Windscream’s new strategy to show profitability is to be the Amazon of other companies services. Your one stop shopping for everything ‘not windscream’!
Well since they aren’t supporting it, at least their reliability rating will be up!!
Take all the call centers they closed down and open them back up as telemarketing centers!
LMAO
There is no money to made trying to sell your own service, bundling or having
a strategic partnership is a better approach.
Even if you have a traditional wireline POTS phone service
you can get the same OTT services with any VoIP carrier for 1/2 the cost.
Pay TV is no different. The cost for content and franchise fees
is extraordinary for these operators. Look at all of the people that are paying
for ESPN right now and not getting any content. It costs a provider about $10/month
to carry and nothing is on right now.