Faster, Cheaper, Easier.

USA Today posted an article this week regarding Sprint’s “Cable’s Cell Phone Service”. Add to that the AT&T television commercials that promote all three screens for program viewing (TV, Laptop, Cell Phone). I am watching these trends with great interest because it signals the commercial beginnings of the interactive media channel consolidation that has been quietly taking place behind the scenes for several years. So now the real question is how long before consumers make the shift and consolidate their services.

I believe the following 4 things must happen to gain widespread adoption:

1. A single point for billing can be compelling. It’s easy to manage and means that I only have one bill to pay – via check or online. – faster & easier
2. With more to lose, service providers may be willing to spend a little more time and effort on customer service - easier
3. A single interface – cable, mobile phone and Internet are all bi-directional, interactive channels. If I can access my content the same way across all three devices, that rocks – faster & easier
4. And if the consolidation of all three includes a common back-end infrastructure, then it should be less expensive for me – cheaper

If you come from a product marketing background - faster, cheaper & easier are three value propositions that win every time in an established market. Now that consolidation has a public face, we’re not going backwards. The game is on. Will a “partnership” strategy such as the Sprint’s be able to achieve the faster/cheaper/ easier consumer benefits we all hope for, or will it require an M&A strategy to get there in a profitable fashion? So far the cable companies have done a much better job of improving service, services, consolidated billing and their user interface. Sprint obviously sees the need for a consolidated channel – can they pull it off?