As multiplatform distribution takes root, audiences have more options to choose the shows they watch and when they watch them. So pay cablers, such as HBO, Showtime and Starz, will have to work
harder to keep their customers writing monthly checks. If viewers know they can eventually check out HBO's "True Blood" or Showtime's "Dexter" via iTunes or DVD, that flexibility may dampen the
incentive to pay a monthly subscription fee, especially in a recession.
The next frontier for pay TV players is Web streaming of hit shows a la Hulu and YouTube. Starz has a service dubbed
Starz Play in partnership with Netflix that makes the main Starz channel available for Web streaming, for an extra fee. HBO is preparing for the rollout later this year of its "HBO Go" service, which
is part of the TV Everywhere broadband push.
So far there's no sign of a mass exodus in the latest subscriber figures for pay TV's Big Three. And pay TV execs downplay any such threat.
Still, industry observers say the growth of viewing options could become a speed bump for the sector that has seen subscriber growth plateau at about 30 million homes recently.
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