More consumers paying to view content than ever before

Marina del Rey, Calif. — The emergence of 5G technology will be a game changer for both the mobile phone business and the digital video business, according to Jeff Binder, executive VP of home and entertainment at T-Mobile U.S. Inc.

Binder (pictured above left), speaking Thursday during the OTT & Video Distribution Summit, said that T-Mobile’s recent announcement of a $3.5 billion commitment to deploy super fast 5G technology is going to change the dynamics of how consumers interact with their phones as well as access content.

“I believe 5G will be a game changer,” he said. "4G changed the way people used your phone; 5G is going to change the way all of us use our home as well as our phone.”

Binder would not provide specific details of T-Mobile’s proposed OTT service, but said the company will not be creating original programming for the offering.

“We’re going to meet customers where they want to be met, and we’re going to start to think of TV as part of the 21st century, but I wouldn’t characterize us as being in a bucket with OTT, pay TV or Netflix,” he said.

Binder also described the state of the television industry as “complicated,” with consumers gravitating toward streaming services like Netflix that offer more choices and a better customer experience than cable.

“Pay TV is dominated by non-customer centric monopolists that have historically not cared about its customers, so it's not a surprise that people are leaving [cable],” he said. “If you have options and you get treated like crap for three decades, you’re going to go somewhere else.”

Nevertheless, he said more people pay for TV than ever before, with 94% paying either traditional cable fees or subscriptions for OTT services in 2017, up from 86% three years prior. Also, there’s more quality television available than ever before.

“We’re in the golden age of television,” he said. “There’s more great TV out there than there’s ever been.”

Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable managing director of content Mark Robichaux (pictured above right) moderated the panel at the OTT & Video Distribution Summit, produced by B&C and Multichannel News parent Future plc.