Telecommunications Quadruple Play Losing Steam?

Joseph Laszlo | January 19, 2007, 05:02 PM

I've been a skeptic of the "quadruple play" (wireline phone, mobile, Internet, pay TV) for a long time now [oldish JupRsch report], and not just because it sounds dumb given the baseball "triple play" reference. Our data suggest that only 14% of so of US consumers self-select the quad play bundle given a menu of services to choose from. A number of issues, from sticker shock through different buying mentalities, get in the way.

It seems that despite cable providers' strong interest in adding wireless to their mix, they too might be seeing some of what we've seen in the market.

First off Comcast's Brian Roberts suggested that he's not personally fond of a quadruple play, though it seems pretty certain that Comcast will be offering one.

Now Time Warner, too, is saying its forthcoming cobranded Sprint service will NOT be part of a quad play bundle. Instead TW plans to rely on value added features (mobile video, remote DVR programming) to convince consumers of the benefits of cable operator-backed wireless.

It's an interesting approach, but I wouldn't rule out wireless from any kind of bundle scenario. My guess is that, particularly with young adults, wireline phones have an ever-diminishing place [recent JupRsch report on VoIP], except in fixed-mobile-convergence or purely back-up scenarios. A wireless/TV/Internet triple play may well prove more of a home run (awful mixed metaphor fully intended) than an all-or-nothing "quad play."