Pay-TV chases millennials with OTT services in media shakeup

The over-the-top era is fully coming into view in the pay-TV market. It is an emerging, slimmed-down, lower-cost, digitally focused set of alternatives that operators hope will bring a legion of millennial-generation pay-TV holdouts into the fold. Analysts think content providers and programmers will be forced to become more and more flexible about their terms with MSOs and satellite operators. "The days of the take-or-leave-it bloated bundle are coming to an end," media analyst Craig Moffett noted. Increasingly, virtual multichannel video programming distributors are coming into play, exemplified by new services from Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) and Sony, which cater to younger audiences. For example, AT&T (NYSE: T) recently announced it will launch a $40-a-month OTT package that includes premium network streaming service HBO Go, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Prime Instant Video and an undefined package of basic cable channels. For more on this trend, check out this FierceCable special report.