Navigating the Future of Video
Like many rural service providers across the country, NEMR, a customer-owned cooperative located in northern Missouri near the Iowa border, continues to evaluate the role of video services in an increasingly streaming-centric marketplace. The company still serves a loyal video customer base, but Michele Gillespie, NEMR’s General Manager, acknowledges that customer preferences are changing.
NEMR began offering IPTV in 2008 and today offers its full channel lineup with its own streaming app that customers can use with their own devices. “We lose video customers every month. We gain a few and lose more,” Gillispie says. At the same time, a large segment of NEMR’s video subscribers remains committed to traditional television viewing experiences.”The older generation wants it,” Gillespie explains. “Between the ages of 56 and 80, they all have the TV service.” Many customers continue to value the familiarity of channel surfing, local news, and traditional programming packages. Michele understands those preferences firsthand. “I have the service at home,” she says. “I watch apps also, but I’m used to watching my local news.” To support those customers while preparing for the future, NEMR is gradually transitioning away from aging Amino set-top boxes and toward newer video solutions, including Innovative Systems’ streaming platforms and devices.The goal is to complete much of that migration by the end of next year.
A Realistic Approach to Video Profitability
Michele has also learned valuable lessons about video pricing throughout her career.
When NEMR first entered the video business in 2008, rates remained largely unchanged for too long.
“We left the price the same and didn’t raise it,” she says. “Then all of a sudden it was a big increase.”
Today, the company takes a more measured approach, typically making annual adjustments in January to keep pace with programming costs and business realities. “It’s just about the same churn every month, even if we do raise prices,” Michele notes.That consistent strategy helps avoid large, disruptive rate increases while maintaining service sustainability.
