Slashdot Mirror


Cable Exec Suggests Changing Consumer Behavior, Not Business Model

Techdirt has pointed out yet another cable exec that just doesn't quite get it. Comcast's COO, Steve Burke, recently urged the TV industry to find ways to "get consumers to change" rather than figure out better methods to cater to demand. "'An entire generation is growing up, if we don't figure out how to change that behavior so it respects copyright and subscription revenue on the part of distributors, we're going to wake up and see cord cutting.' How many consumers, in any market, are focused on 'respecting' vendors' revenue streams? How, exactly, does he propose to effect this sea change? And why not just develop products that consumers will willingly pay for, rather than trying to change consumer behavior in such a fundamental way?"

23 of 675 comments (clear)

  1. Just release TV shows for free by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    And make your money on touring.

    1. Re:Just release TV shows for free by Itninja · · Score: 3, Funny

      Advertising doesn't work for me. I use a DVR to skip all commercials all the time. Maybe product placement works a little. I know that for the next month I will laugh whenever I see a Cisco logo because of last nights 30 Rock. So I guess we can call that 'working'.

      --
      I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
  2. He's Right! by smitty777 · · Score: 4, Funny

    We should all change to meet his business goals. You all need to stop being so self centered.

    --
    "Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish"
    Albert Einstein
  3. Re: say exactly what my bosses wanted to hear by An+anonymous+Frank · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hereby declare that I'm willing to do exactly this for half that price!
    Any takers?

    Hello?!

  4. Re:How stupid can he possibly be? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ask any IT professional what's the hardest thing to change?

    User behavior.

    Well, in my experience, I've found that really depends on how hard you hit them.

  5. Re:It's both by MrMista_B · · Score: 3, Funny

    You're not an RIAA/MPAA shill, but after:

    "I now expect 4 dozen posts, making car analogies, expounding on the "false" argument of lost sales, and pointing out that I'm likely an astroturfing RIAA/MPAA shill.

    Have fun!"

    you're definitely trolling. :)

  6. Re:Of course we'll see a shift by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...if all they're showing are Gilligan's Island reruns

    I'm hoping for a Gilligan's Island "reboot". Something darker and edgy. Too bad Chris Farley is dead, he would have made an awesome, cocaine addicted Skipper. I would still download torrents of it instead of paying for cable, because I believe great art should be a labor of love, unsullied by commercial interests :-D

  7. Re:Might I be the first by Jonboy+X · · Score: 4, Funny

    And the Internet connection required to make any of that less than worthless come from where exactly?

    My neighbor's WEP-protected access point.

    --

    "In a 32-bit world, you're a 2-bit user. You've got your own newsgroup, alt.total.loser." -Weird Al
  8. Re:Entitlement by sqrt(2) · · Score: 2, Funny

    Does that price include the root kit?

    --
    If you build it, nerds will come. Soylentnews.org
  9. Re:Crap article, again. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Congratulations on ruining everyone's Friday with your facts and information. Everyone would have been better off left alone in their 2-minute hate session.

  10. Re:Perspective by D+Ninja · · Score: 2, Funny

    You should check out Transformers 2 on Blu-Ray. I was completely and utterly shocked to see the disk go straight to the movie when popped-in. No FBI warning, no previews, no commercials, no menu, just the movie, starting to play automatically. It was awesome. Now to get all future movies designed in this very way.

    Of course, because it was Transformers 2, the fact that it went to the movie right away was the only good part about this particular movie experience...

  11. Re:Perspective by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

    You should check out Transformers 2 on Blu-Ray. I was completely and utterly shocked to see the disk go straight to the movie when popped-in. No FBI warning, no previews, no commercials, no menu, just the movie, starting to play automatically. It was awesome.

    The proper way for your Blu-Ray player to handle a Transformers 2 disc is to eject it immediately at high velocity, causing it to shatter on the opposite wall. That would have been much better than jumping straight to the movie.

  12. Re:Perspective by Naturalis+Philosopho · · Score: 4, Funny

    Not to put too fine a point on it, but their marketing research probably found that anyone who wanted to watch Transformers 2 on Blu-Ray probably couldn't figure out the menus and would return the disk after 2 minutes without explosions before the movie started.

    Yeah, that was a joke, and it was funny for everyone except you.

  13. Re:Might I be the first by killmenow · · Score: 2, Funny

    My neighbor's unsecured wireless router.

  14. Re: say exactly what my bosses wanted to hear by shakuni · · Score: 5, Funny

    the arrogance of the tech community at slashdot it quite astounding.. what makes you think you can really do whatever he does at half the price... I am not saying that this guy is great shakes but being the COO of a multi-billion dollar company is not an easy job at all and takes very different skills from being a tech whiz. Have you carried any revenue targets ever in your life ? This post has been marked funny but it is time that slashdotters understand that running a business is tough.

  15. Re:Perspective by Wumpus · · Score: 4, Funny

    What low UID?

  16. Re:Perspective by z4ns4stu · · Score: 2, Funny

    Your facts are getting the way of the uninformed rage and they are not appreciated.

    --
    The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass. - Dogen
  17. Re: say exactly what my bosses wanted to hear by databyss · · Score: 3, Funny

    How about I try it out for a year? If it doesn't work out, I'll take my $10 million golden parachute and jump out. Sounds fair to me.

    --
    Hmmm witty sig or funny sig? Maybe elitest techy sig!
  18. Re:This makes me want to pirate stuff more. by russotto · · Score: 2, Funny

    And to solve the piracy problem: Stop releasing stuff in forms that can be easily pirated. Stop releasing DVD box sets, stop releasing individual episodes on iTunes, and stop letting the media slip out of your control.

    Also stop broadcasting the shows. Best just to keep them in a vault somewhere, where no one can see them. Perhaps as a compromise some sort of peep show type interface could be used, with armed guards and strip searches to make sure no one brings a camera or microphone near the viewer.

  19. Re:Perspective by spidercoz · · Score: 3, Funny

    this is Amerka, dude, commie bullshit like that don't fly here

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
  20. Re: say exactly what my bosses wanted to hear by david_thornley · · Score: 5, Funny

    I assure you I could run a multi-billion dollar company at least as well as some CEOs have in the past few years (I could manage to put it into a steep decline, not a precipitous one), and I'd charge less.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  21. Re:Perspective by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Seeing Megan Fox bending over a motorbike on a giant screen was a fantastic, though brief, er, digital
    experience.

  22. Re:Perspective by nitehawk214 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Not to put too fine a point on it,

    say I'm the only bee in your bonnet?

    --
    I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust