ome condominium and homeowners’ associations like to “go it alone.” They ask, “Why do I need some expert to help me select my cable provider? Isn’t that what the cable committee is for?” Others ask, “We have such a good deal with our current provider. Why would we ever leave?”

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In the past, this sentiment may have been acceptable. For many years, condominium buildings across the United States, and in cities like Chicago, were signing bulk cable agreements with the local cable company to reduce the rate individuals paid for packages such as expanded Basic programming. Often, the only real question the cable committee or board had to grapple with was whether or not to include HBO in the bulk package.

The cable/broadband industry has changed dramatically in the past several years with the introduction of new products, services, technologies and regulations that are having a strong impact on the selection process of a bulk provider. Understanding these dynamics are very important in determining your approach to this issue.

According to a recent study by the National Multi-Housing Council (NMHC), renters now consider “high speed internet access” to be the most important amenity they consider in determining where to live. A distant number two on the list? Washer/dryer connections in the unit. Imagine how fast the marketplace has changed in recent times. “Location, location, location” has been replaced with “internet, speed, reliability.”

In another important study, RVA Research found that homeowners perceive that fiber to the home adds roughly ten percent to the value of the home versus a similar residence without fiber. Once again, this is another indication of the importance of this issue and the perceptions around broadband and digital TV quality.

This recent about-face on the selection of a bulk cable provider stems from this elevated importance placed on these issues by residents. It has put significant pressure on cable committees and condo boards to do a very thorough review of their community’s needs before quickly renewing for the same bulk package with the same provider.

A board president of a very large homeowners’ association in downtown Chicago recently said “we thought we knew what we were doing until proposals started coming in from various cable vendors. We just wanted to consider adding internet to our bulk plan, but it was clear that we needed help in deciphering all of the products, speeds, features and pricing.”

Consider the following. In the past decade, penetration rates for HD packages have jumped from 10% to over 75% of customers, while DVRs (digital video recorders) are now present in over half of all pay TV households. High speed internet penetration rates have skyrocketed too, with about

90% of Americans now subscribing to this product. Plus, we have to consider the rapid growth of Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime subscriptions. Additionally, there are newer services launching all of the time: Google Fiber, Dish Network’s Sling TV, Verizon’s Go90, to name a few.

Customer behavior is changing as well, as you may have noticed among your own residents. The amount of time cable customers spend watching traditional TV is rapidly declining, while over-the-top streaming grows every day. In fact, more people watch Netflix on a single night than the entire audience for ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX combined! If Netflix was a cable channel, it would be number one in Nielsen ratings every night.

The demand for internet speed is rapidly increasing too. Last year, the FCC re-defined high speed internet as any connection above 25 Mbps. But customers are demanding (and subscribing to) speeds that are much higher than this. Comcast recently stated that the majority of their broadband customers are at or above 50 Mbps. Now, we are seeing speed increases reach 1,000 Mbps (gigabit) or higher. It’s an arms race as companies like RCN, Comcast, AT&T and independent providers keep pushing speeds every year.

And what about wireless? Increasingly, residents want mobile access to the internet to watch their favorite movie, a basketball game or a re-run of Seinfeld. A growing proportion of this is happening on mobile devices such as tablets outside the home. This raises questions about wireless hotspots, wi-fi access and in-home wi-fi as well.

Finally, regulations are changing too. Recently, the FCC has taken up the issue of set-top box rental fees and open sourcing of these boxes, and last year the FCC addressed net neutrality. All of these changes have also put significant pressure on a building’s infrastructure to handle future trends. Do you have loop thru wiring? Home run? Coax? Fiber? Cat6 Ethernet?

Certainly, the pay TV and broadband bulk business has changed in recent times. We no longer are just thinking about “what to do with HBO.” This is not meant to scare you (no, this is not like Presidential politics!). Rather, it is meant to point out the evolution this market is going through, and how important it has become for cable committees and boards to take this process seriously and perhaps seek advice or guidance from a third party that represents condos and HOAs.

Now, back to your building for a moment. Your bulk cable agreement with expanded Basic programming and one digital box per unit is coming up for renewal in less than a year. So, what should you do?

An independent advisory firm (which is different than legal counsel), can guide your team through a professionally managed process to select the right product, program, provider and terms for your next bulk package. If done

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