When Sunday nights roll around I am usually frantically calling friends to see who will be watching the Sunday night lineup. My house only receives HBO and Encore, which might not be too bad if my favorite shows weren't on Showtime. I didn't have a place to go last Sunday so I flipped to Showtime anyways, just in case. Sort of like when you open the fridge three or four times expecting a new food item to appear but never does. Sure enough, no Showtime. What stood out to me this time was the message that appeared in place of Dexter plotting his next revenge.
It said something along the lines of "To order Showtime, call your service provider at..." and gave me an 800 number to telephone. I checked my calendar and I was right, it is the year 2011. I remember seeing those messages in early 2000.
In today's world with media consumption at an all time high, the phone-in process seems so archaic. If I am a premiere television brand here is what I would do:
- Create the ability to purchase the network with the click of a button
- Option customers to rent the episode for a one time fee
- Option customers to purchase a season pass for one or more programs at a fixed rate
Consumers demand efficiency especially for media viewing. We see it with the insurgence of OnDemand, iTunes, Netflix and Amazon. Even YouTube allows movie rentals for a low cost now. HBO recognized the demand and capitalized on it with HBO-Go on demand services. This shift has provided people with the ability to browse, download and share television shows, films, books and various other productions. In order for premium networks like Showtime and Stars to stay afloat and not follow the brick and mortar stores into the ground, step up and make the user experience second to none.
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