U.S. TV broadcasters Facing Growing Competition, S&P Says

U.S. TV broadcasters are facing “growing secular pressure” from online video and other alternatives, Standard & Poor’s said in a report Monday. U.S. media companies need to have “strong, well-defined brands that translate across both traditional TV and online alternatives” and decreased dependence on full-size video bundles, Standard & Poor's credit analyst Naveen Sarma said in a news release. "Successful media companies must, in our view, move away from their bundle strategies and focus on their key brands and networks." CBS, Comcast, Disney, Time Warner and Twenty-First Century Fox have these attributes, while AMC Networks and Viacom possess “fewer of these qualities,” S&P said.