MONTREAL – He didn’t want to come right out and say “told ya” but Corus Entertainment CEO John Cassaday reiterated a point he’s been making since over-the-top video started to gain traction in Canada: that it’s additive, not a detriment to the TV business.
Back in May of 2011 in a feature interview with Cartt.ca, Cassaday predicted the impact of Netflix on his TV business would be minimal and 16 months later, he’s correct. All the scary doom and gloom prophesies about big new global players coming in to scoop content rights away from Canadian media companies hasn’t panned out, despite everyone’s worries, he told a crowd of investors on Wednesday at the CIBC Institutional Investors conference in Montreal.
When asked about over-the-top video providers and Netflix in particular, Cassaday (pictured) sounded serene. “The Netflix factor was probably as large as anything that we faced,” he said. “There was a heightened degree of uncertainty about that but we have the view that this would be additive as opposed to a zero-sum game. I think we’ve finally been proven right.
“I’m not sure it’s too early to say I-told-you-so but it looks like there was a far greater appetite for the consumption of more content than people imagined,” he added. Corus also has long term content supply agreements with all of its primary studios, as well as HBO and Showtime, assuring it top-flight programming for years.
“Netflix is far from mature but I think it’s finding its place now – and what we’re starting to see is a more orderly market as it relates to windows and access to content and again, the concern about whether this was going to result in significant increases in content and programming costs, I think we’ve pretty much got that one addressed.”
But, what about the constant worry that Canadians will cut or trim the cord when it comes to their subscription TV services in favor of free or cheap OTT? Again, no worries, Cassaday assured the crowd. “The jury seems to be back on that one and the conclusion is that yes, there was some erosion in pay volumes last year both in Canada and the U.S. but that seemed to be more a function of economic factors than the impact of Netflix or other over-the-top providers,” he said.
– Greg O’Brien
