FLOW goes 3D HDTV as Netflix cometh - XFinity follow-on indicates Streaming's Deep Impact

I’ll make the glorious by my pen

And famous by my sword.

Marquis of Montrose, My Dear and Only Love

Looks like the effect of Netflix on the Telecommunications environment as predicted in my last article entitled “Digicel and WiMax 4G Mobile - Back to the Future as NetFlix Expands” is not restricted to just Telecom Provider Digicel and their Caribbean 4G ambitions alone. This as Triple Play Provider FLOW has the most to lose with the coming of Netflix to the Caribbean on this their Fifth Anniversary as stated in the article “VIDEO: Flow celebrates fifth anniversary in Jamaica: Part I”, published Thursday July 21st 2011, The Jamaica Observer.

This as Triple Play Provider FLOW has now decided to go into the realm of 3D-HDTV channel packages as stated in the article “Flow Ja to launch four new products”, published Sunday July 24 2011, The Jamaica Gleaner, ostensibly in anticipation of the coming London Olympics 2012 in July 27^th 2012AD, which is now exactly one (1) year away.

This 3D is great for viewing sporting events and is part of a slew of four (4) new product offerings from the Triple Play Provider FLOW expected to debut in the Fourth Quarter of 2012AD, namely:

1. 300Mbps Broadband Internet speeds
2. 3D HDTV Cable TV packages made possible by this speed increase
3. A TV-Anywhere Concept, allowing Customers to watch Triple Play Provider FLOW on any device similar to Triple Play Provider Comcast XFinity 1GBps product as stated in my blog article entitled “ComCast and 1Gbps Project Xfinity - Starship Troopers in Cable's Battle Los Angeles”
4. Cloud-Based Video Services, similar to those soon to be offered by Telecom Provider Digicel as suggested in my blog article entitled “Digicel Cloud Backup Service and future Cloud-Based Services - V.S Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas” and my Geezam blog article entitled “Digicel’s Cloud Backup Services – A deep Analysis”. 

Triple Play Provider FLOW going 3D HDTV comes as no surprise to me, as I had previously predicted they would have to go 3D HDTV as a similar problem had beset the Movie Theatre Business, albeit due to DVD and Blu-Ray Piracy in as stated in my blog article entitled “Palace Amusement and the 3D Movies - Lady Gaga's 3D Mui Mui and Dolche & Gabbana”. 

This as Triple Play Provider FLOW’s launch of HDTV Cable bundles as stated in the article “More HD channels form FLOW”, published Sunday, April 10, 2011, The Jamaica Observer was obviously having no effect  four (4) months on.

The evidence?

Triple Play Provider FLOW since as early as June 2011AD have been continuously advertising their Cable Packages on Television Jamaica and CVM TV, as apparently everyone is now aware of the coming of Netflix as stated in my blog article entitled “Netflix coming to Latin America - Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer”.

Triple Play Provider FLOW Cable packages would be rendered useless, being as Triple Play Provider FLOW’s uses a Latin American feed, which is usually several weeks or even months behind that of its North American counterparty in terms of program content.

Netflix would literally come and collect, being as Netflix’s US$7.99 thirty (30) day unlimited subscription model is expected to grace Latin America and the Caribbean in the Fourth Quarter of 2011AD with their IPTV licensed presence courtesy of the Broadcasting Commission as stated in my blog article entitled “Netflix coming to Latin America - Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer”.

If this proves to be true, it would render Triple Play Provider FLOW susceptible to the phenomenon of cord-cutting as evidence in the article “Survey of viewers shows extent of TV time shifting”, published Tuesday August 17 2010, 6:53 am ET By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer, Yahoo New and as my blog article entitled “FLOW, IPTV and the coming of Net2Vu - Johnny Mnemonic” suggests.

Customers with Internet enabled TV’s or IPTV set top boxes such as the Boxee Box, the Roku Box or the Apple iTV in North America can easily get Triple Play Provider FLOW High Speed Broadband Internet ONLY instead of those expensive Cable packages they hardly watch. Such customers would just stream and watch the latest programming on Netflix as stated in my blog article entitled “Netflix & the Death of Blu-Ray - Rise of the Machines meets Chicken Run”.

This has been Netflix’s intention for some time as stated in the article “Netflix expects video Streaming to drown out DVD Discs'”, published Wednesday, November 24, 2010, The Jamaica Observer as evident from their raising of the price of mail delivered DVD’s and Blu-Ray’s: encourage people to stream, as the distribution of DVD’s and Blu-Ray’s and licensing of programming is expensive, with streaming yielding significant savings in terms of Netflix’s operations long term.

The statistics presented in my blog article entitled “Netflix & the Death of Blu-Ray - Rise of the Machines meets Chicken Run” paints a stark picture for North America:

1. As of the end of the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD, 84% of the US market is Cable TV and Triple Play Provider’s
2. As of the end of the Fourth Quarter of 2009AD, Netflix had two million four hundred thousand (2,400,000) paying customers
3. Netflix added another six million four hundred thousand (6,400,000) subscribers by the Fourth Quarter of 2010AD
4. Netflix is now the 3^rd Largest Cable Provider in the market with eighteen million three hundred thousand (18,300,000) subscribers
5. Triple Play Provider Comcast and Satellite TV Provider DirecTV are 1^st and 2^nd respectively

Triple Play Provider Comcast in the USA, who can already smell their own blood in the water, has launched a 1Gbps Broadband Internet Service named XFinity as stated in my blog article entitled “ComCast and 1Gbps Project Xfinity - Starship Troopers in Cable's Battle Los Angeles”, very impressive speeds for a Cable Provider, given the fact their service is delivered over Copper Coaxial Cables.

Thus Triple Play Provider FLOW impromptu announcement of these four (4) services, ostensibly by the First Quarter of 2012 is basically a follow-on, West Indies Cricket style, of the precautionary Fourth Quarter of 2011AD launch of XFinity by Triple Play Provider Comcast.

Truly, this may be the first sign of the Deep Impact (1998) of Streaming and the first unconfirmed signs of cord cutting in Jamaica, Triple Play Provider FLOW  ELE (Extinction Level Event)!