Scripps is in talks with NCTC about optimizing its new Tablo device for cable ops to support a content combo featuring free, over-the-air TV networks, FAST channels and an Internet-delivered pay-TV package focusing on entertainment.
About a year after retooling Tablo, a device that can feed in and record free, over-the-air TV channels and integrate with streaming apps, E.W. Scripps is now working on a way to extend this option to small and midsized cable operators.
Scripps, a US broadcaster that acquired Tablo-originator Nuvyyo in 2022, is in talks with the National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC) about offering a version of the device that would continue to support free, over-the-air local television networks alongside a lineup of free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels plus a skinny, entertainment-focused pay-TV package.
Details on the pay-TV piece are still in the works, but word of Scripps' plan arrives a few days after the NCTC shed some light on Broadband TV, a sports-free, Internet-delivered package of 30-plus entertainment channels that will become available to its 700-plus members later this year.
Scripps is sharing its plan for the first time among small and midsized operators at this week's The Independent Show in Nashville. At CES in January, Nuvyyo CEO Grant Hall told Light Reading that discussions were underway about how to optimize the new Tablo for cable operators that are exploring ways to stay in the video business during an age of pay-TV cord-cutting.
Hall said then that Tablo provides a "perfect fit because it gives [operators] a replacement at very low cost to them, very low cost to their customers, and gives them access to that great content – the local stations and the over-the-top FAST channels."
More options for customers
Scripps is working with Enghouse Systems on some of the plumbing of the operator-focused offering, including integrations and authentication, Tom Sly, VP of enterprise strategy at Scripps, explained at this week's show.
But the general idea is to use Tablo to access the broadcast networks along with a lineup of FAST channels (Scripps offers 79 FAST channels today and expects the number to rise to 100 later this year) and the skinny, low cost pay-TV package. That could provide operators with a new option to pitch to customers who have left pay-TV or are considering leaving the traditional pay-TV bundle.
The approach, which seems to scoot by local retransmission requirements, also appears to share some similarities to EchoStar's Android TV-powered AirTV lineup, which enables users to combine over-the-air TV with streaming apps, including Sling TV.
An NCTC official confirmed that discussions with Scripps about this option are underway but stressed that nothing has been formalized.
Sly said Scripps is focused on ironing out the backend pieces of this option and expects the operator offering to be ready for prime time in early 2025. It would be a new avenue for the new Tablo, which starts at $99.95 at retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, HSN and QVC.
Out-of-home access on the roadmap
Speaking here at The Independent Show, Hall said he envisions that operators could offer leasing of Tablo devices, much like they do with set-tops today. In addition to driving some revenue from leasing devices, operators would also be able to tap the platform to pull in ad dollars.
Scripps and Nuvyyo also expect to play a key role in distribution and customer service for the operator-optimized iteration of Tablo.
Work is also underway to support out-of-home viewing via the Tablo app for mobile devices. That new capability is expected to become available late this year or in early 2025, execs said.
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