From http://www.ynot.com/content/117061-time-warner-free-porn-killing-bottom-line.html
Time Warner: ‘Free Porn is Killing Our Bottom Line’
by
Marty O’Brien
Published on August 1st, 2011 11:57 AM
Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Officer Glenn Britt told shareholders a “significant dip” in the company’s third-quarter revenues could be traced to a monumental plunge in income from video-on-demand porn.YNOT – Something is terribly wrong in the world when sex no longer sells. The wrong-ness teeters on the edge of cataclysm when even mainstream multimedia giants start blaming slumping profits on a slowdown in pornography sales.
That’s exactly what happened late last week when Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Officer Glenn Britt told shareholders a “significant dip” in the company’s third-quarter revenues could be traced to a monumental plunge in income from video-on-demand porn. According to Britt, last quarter’s drop was the most recent in a “steady trend” brought about by consumers getting their porn online for free.
“One of the things going on with VOD is that there’s been fairly steady trends over some time period now for adult to go down, largely because there’s that kind of material available on the internet for free,” he said during a Thursday conference call. “And that’s pretty high-margin. That’s been not just this quarter, but going on for some time period.”
To be fair, limp porn revenues aren’t the only culprit in Time Warner’s current financial embarrassment. Chief Financial Officer Rob Marcus told The Wall Street Journal’s Peter Kafka the porn plunge accounts for only about one-third of the company’s revenue slide. The rest may be attributed to a third-quarter dearth of big PPV events like boxing and other sports matchups combined with a slip in VOD revenues from Hollywood movies.
Only one-third? Considering all the other programming areas from which Time Warner makes money, one-third seems like a hefty percentage for one small industry to bear.
Time Warner’s comments don’t amount to an all-out endorsement of adult content, but at least Britt’s revelation has the mainstream talking about the economic role the adult industry plays, if only tangentially. When Wall Street companies feel compelled to air their porn pocketbook pinch in public, perhaps the conservative contingent in the legislature will feel compelled to find another whipping boy.
I’m sure piracy plays a big part in this as well but there are more factors involved then just piracy…
They forget to mention that alot of these video on demand movies are priced right out of sight. My cable company charges $12 per movie and its even more then that in a hotel room.
Companies are also scrutinizing business travel expendatures more and more so a businessman charging porn to a hotel bill might come back to haunt him/her.
In todays economy folks are more concerned with feeding their families and trying to pay for Medicine, gas, etc… Dropping $12-15 for a movie you don’t even get to own is a high price in the times we are living in.
Not to mention, depending on the area/market you’re in, your cable company’s VOD may offer a version substantially “softer” than the version — or other content — you can find on the internet.
Your absalutely right Michael. Last time I ordered a VOD porn movie it was softcore. At that price (was $9.99 at the time) a couple years ago I decided to not spend any more money for censored crapola.
Censored crapola, like Censored News Network.
With laptops & free wifi in the hotel room, why would anyone pay for hotel porn?
well if I’m chillin in a hotel room with a guy and he wants to watch some porn with me, he’d better whip out that credit card 🙂
Monica if he is in a hotel room with YOU and needs or wants porn with you there he needs his head examined. He has a serious problem.
@Karmafan – To quote “The Outlaw Josey Wales”: There is iron in your words, for all to see.
I wonder how many of our senators and congressmen check out the VOD porn in their hotel rooms when they travel? Bet they don’t want that listed on their travel statement. They prolly empty the mini bar as well.