We’ve been pretty skeptical of the plans by the big cable companies to create “TV Everywhere,” a system to try to reduce churn by offering users the ability to access TV shows online that match their cable subscriptions. The problem, of course, is that the cable companies aren’t looking at this as a way to embrace the future, but more as a way to make the internet act more like cable. This is a recipe for failure. Mark Glaser, over at PBS MediaShift, digs in to explain the many reasons why TV Everywhere is likely to fail, and they’re all focused around a simple issue: the whole concept is based on limiting consumer options, rather than increasing them. The TV Everywhere supporters shoot back that they are increasing options by giving people access to their TV channels online, but that’s only under very restrictive conditions that are more designed to keep you from cutting the cord from the cable company — a relationship many customers are fed up with and would love to ditch. It’s a simple message that so many companies have trouble understanding these days: you don’t succeed by limiting customers and taking away value.
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