Asia’s biggest pay-TV network, Fox International Channels, is working on a new pitch to operators: a branded, subscription-based VOD service, targeting so-called cord-nevers – people unconvinced by traditional pay-TV, but who like to watch video online.

The nascent service, still at a conceptual stage, will feature factual, dramas and some sports content from Fox’s library.

Designed to extend rather than bypass the existing pay-TV ecosystem, the actual product, and how much it costs consumers, will vary by market, explained Zubin Gandevia, president for Fox International Channels in Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

“We have to be careful that we don’t cannibalize,” Gandevia said, speaking at the 2014 Asia Pacific Pay-TV Operators Summit (APOS).

“Pricing will come down to what we are trying to achieve in the market. It might be we want to move from a per-household to per-subscriber model, it might lie in extending your pay-TV cable subscription model, or it might lie in going through the telco model,” he continued.

“There are different ways to attack this, and you have to figure out market-by-market where the opportunity lies.”

Current partners would be offered the service first, Gandevia noted. As it will be delivered online, the service can also be deployed by DTH platforms without the two-way connectivity enjoyed by digital cable.

“Our clear approach is to work with our current partners, because they understand our products and our brands,” Gandevia said. “It makes sense to work with them.”

Bolstering brands

Over-the-top SVOD is just one area where operators and channel providers can shore up the pay-TV ecosystem, Gandevia argued.

During his on-stage discussion, he also urged operators to drive uptake of their services with simpler packaging and take on more HD channels, which can help retain subs.

At the same time, Gandevia feels there is more scope to work with channel providers on ad sales, pointing to the success of Australian joint sales house MCN, as well as developing more immersive experiences for channel brands.

When people subscribe to NatGeo for example, the only extras they receive tend to be a few promotions, he noted.

“Imagine if when you subscribed, you got 10 of your favorite NatGeo documentaries downloaded in your drive, or 10 Blu-ray DVDs, you got your phone cover customized with your favorite NatGeo photo or you got six months free of the NatGeo online magazine,” Gandevia suggested.

“I’m sure we could do it with all of our brands,” he added. “It doesn’t cost a lot to do. Some of it is unlocking value internally, but I think we have to go in that direction for pay-TV.”

These ideas chart the next phase of evolution for pay-TV, providing more ways to watch, as well as a wider choice of content and channels.

Even in the area of sports channels, where Fox sometimes clashes with operators bidding for rights, Gandevia argued the merits of deeper co-operation, working together to grow sports viewing in Asia, where it remains relatively low.

“We have to expand our partnerships,” he said.

“Traditionally, if we wanted to build a bigger business, we asked operators to take a few more channels, but that conversation doesn’t go very far.

"We have to find new ways of doing things together to ultimately build the business.”