We heard that the cable industry (or at least TWC and Comcast) could begin offering up a lot of pay-TV content to subscribers via the web
by this summer, but frankly, we didn't believe it. But thanks to new quotes from Time Warner chief executive Jeff Bewkes and DirecTV CEO Chase Carey, you can safely put us in the "believer" camp. Reportedly, TWC is looking to provide
pay-TV content via the internet and even on mobile devices for no extra charge. Bewkes even noted that "everything on television should become available to [customers] on broadband for free," which is pretty amazing for a cable guy to say. DirecTV also seems kosher with the idea of giving in before customers
simply jump ship, with its head honcho intelligently stating that "in the past, when a company tries to stop or block something from happening, it's usually failed." Oh, and this whole regime could totally be the shot in the arm
mobile TV providers have been yearning for.
Read - TWC names TV-by-internet offering
Read - DirecTV following suit
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
freighttrain2126 @ Mar 4th 2009 9:24AM
Finally! It seems that some people in the industry actually get it (you hear that music execs?). Being a Brighthouse (which i think is owned by TWC) I look forward to these new offerings.
tranzparentl @ Mar 4th 2009 9:50AM
Pay TV content when there is free services like Hulu with very minimal commercials? Thanks but no thanks.
TW just lost me as a cable subscriber a month ago to my Popcorn Hour and PlayOn.
YouFaceTheTick @ Mar 5th 2009 12:02AM
We suspended DTV until next football season. If Sunday Ticket were available as a stand-alone option, we'd totally just pay for it and do ala carte on the shows we like. Instead of going with cable, we simply use Hulu, etc for watching shows. No need to watch Network TV ever again. Or pay for it.