Kessler and DeMarco: Professional monitoring, strategy bode well for DIRECTV/Lifeshield deal

I had a chance to speak to Jeff Kessler, research analyst for Imperial Capital, and ESX chairman George DeMarco about the satellite television giant DIRECTV getting into security with the purchase of LifeShield.

Below is a summary of those discussion:

This deal is different from the string of cable companies and telecoms that have jumped into the fray over the past couple of years, Kessler said, for a couple of reasons.

First, DIY is built into the DNA of both DIRECTV and LifeSheild, Kessler said. “They understand each others' way of working,” and that will make the combination more successful.

Second, LifeSheild, and now, DIRECTV, is using CMS, Protection 1's professional monitoring arm to monitor security customers.

With the exception of AT&T, which is building two monitoring centers, the other cable and telecom players are not using professional monitoring centers.

“This allows DIRECTV to show off its feathers in front of other cable and telecom players,” Kessler said. Those companies are using “generic customer service organizations to do their initial [monitoring] service, [but DIRECTV has a acquired a company] that uses the largest independent monitoring company in the country with five branches.”

He pointed out that CMS has extremely experienced people answering phones who know about intrusion and life safety, including carbon monoxide. The company also has a group of people who are specially trained in health care for calls related to personal emergency response.

All of this is important, he said, because it will improve the customer experience for DIRECTV's security customers. Going with a professional monitoring company will help convince customers that they can trust DIRECTV as their security provider because customers believe that the “police will be there in five minutes, or a health specialist will stay on the phone for 35 minutes with a customer,” he said.

In general, the public's perception about cable companies' service is not good. This is a hurdle for cable companies who enter the security industry. By partnering with CMS that has “proficiency and experience dealing with customer emergencies, whether it's security or health,[DIRECTV] is in a better position to succeed,” Kessler said.

Kessler said there will likely more deals like this where an outsider like a satellite or cable company will buy a home security provider. In addition, Kessler expect to see more “partnerships as telcos and cable operators realize the value in having a high-quality partner on the service end of the business.

George DeMarco, chairman of ESX, and former owner of Greater Alarm said DIRECTV's strategy is pretty straightforward.

“DIRECTV has 20 million customers. If the current market penetration for electronic security systems is approximately 20-25 percent, then their customer database is a gold mine.”

DeMarco said it's all about finding new, complementary, recurring revenue streams that “boost their ability to attract a greater share of the customer's wallet. Offering security and home management systems with interactive service capabilities, especially video, gives DIRECTV an opportunity to overlay additional home services for customers, while growing top-line revenues and increasing bottom -line profits.  
 
“With the advancements in product technologies, cloud-based services, and mobile devices, Multiple System Operators (MSO) and telecoms have been eyeing the electronic security industry of late. That said, I believe DIRECTV and other MSOs are looking for ways to augment their current offerings.”

DeMarco said the those industries' subscribers are willing to “cut the cord” from content packages because of the impact of Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon's Prime Service. “In other words, MSOs can increase new phone and broadband subscribers while losing paid TV subscribers. Consumers have more choices today for content and delivery of broadband services. As a result, MSOs are exploring other sources of revenue for growth opportunities and the electronic security industry seems to be the likely candidate.”