NCTA's Powell To Senate: Biggest Subscription Video Provider is Netflix, Not Cable

On May 14, National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Michael Powell plans to tells the Senate Communications Subcommittee, "The largest subscription video provider in the country today is Netflix - not Comcast, Time Warner Cable, DIRECTV or any other MVPD."

And 65% of that Netflix viewing is on a TV set, not a computer, he adds, citing Nielsen figures. He offers a laundry list of over-the-top competitors, including Hulu, Amazon, iTunes, CinemaNow, network websites, HBOGo, Apple TV, user-generated and special interest sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and TED.com, as well as YouTube's just announced subscription video service. "If market failure is characterized by a lack of new entry, there is clearly no failure in the video marketplace." But that doesn't mean traditional MVPDS are conceding the space.