Ben Weinberger, Senior Vice President, Chief Product Officer of Sling TV, answers the following industry questions prior to joining Parks Associates and other industry leaders at the 2016 CONNECTIONS Summit, taking place during CES January 6-7, 2016:
What is the most important next step to engage customers in smart home solutions, connected entertainment services, and/or value-added services like tech support and connected health?
The most important thing companies can do is personalize the experience. Consumers are savvy, more educated and expect a top-quality customer experience. Personalization drives trust and trust drives long-term engagement.
What is the biggest challenge your company faces in 2016?
The biggest challenge Sling TV faces in 2016 is continuing to scale with our customer demand. We continue to grow at a rapid pace, and we need to ensure we are delivering the best experience to our subscribers.
What is the biggest driver for the connected consumer market?
Consumers live a more connected life than ever before, and younger people thirst for a high-speed, mobile lifestyle. The need for greater mobile speeds drives the connected lifestyle.
What are the most important initiatives your company is taking in 2016?
In order to deliver the next generation of TV, we are acutely focused on the best quality video stream and personalizing Sling TV.
Describe your vision for the smart home and entertainment markets in 2020.
Sling TV redefines television. Our subscribers expect great programming where they want it, when they want it and at a high quality. In 2020, you will be able to watch Sling TV and other video entertainment services on any device, wherever you are—all through incredibly fast wireless networks. The notion of not having enough bandwidth where you are will virtually be eliminated in 2020. Services will be personal and informed. Informed of your preferences, your locations, your habits and your connected life. All of this data may sound a bit daunting, yet it will provide consumers a rich and fulfilling entertainment experience.
Ben Weinberger will be participating on the panel "Cloud-based CE and Virtualization: Converging Video Services" on January 6 at 1:10pm, alongside speakers from AirTies Wireless Networks, Comcast, Gracenote, Lynx Technology, and TiVo.
To see the agenda for this year's CONNECTIONS Summit, visit www.connectionssummit.com.
