ATLANTA – Following the leads of fellow major U.S. cable operators Cablevision and Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications plans to begin streaming linear TV channels to iPads and possibly other computer tablets in subscribers’ homes later this year.
Speaking at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo convention here on Tuesday, Cox President Patrick Esser disclosed that the third largest U.S. MSO will launch a new multi-screen video service, known as Cox TV Connect, in time for Christmas. The move will come just a few months after the MSO launched a similar online video service for the PC, known as Cox TV Online, in May.
While Esser did not reveal which tablets will be supported by Cox TV Connect initially, obviously the highly popular Apple iPad will rank high on the list of candidates. It also seems likely that Cox TV Connect will be made available on tablets that use Google’s Android operating system sooner rather than later. After all, Cox already offers several Android smartphone models for a mobile service that runs on the Sprint Nextel network.
(However, Cox also announced this week it is dumping its wireless operation.)
Speaking later in the same day, Steve Necessary, vice president of video product development and management for Cox, confirmed that the MSO is targeting the iPad with the launch of about a 35-channel service. That’s similar to what Time Warner Cable introduced in the spring. "We'll start with a certain number of national channels, then expand with local and more national networks," Necessary said. "The coolness factor is pretty high." He said the upcoming Cox TV Connect service will eventually add such other features as DVR management and remote-control functions, which are now available in a separate app from the MSO.
The live TV streaming apps have generated complaints from some programmers that the features violate their current distribution agreements. The cable operators counter that because the apps provide TV to subscribers only in their homes, they are covered under their existing carriage deals.
So far, Viacom has been the only programmer that has actually brought the issue to court, suing both Cablevision and Time Warner Cable for copyright violations and breach of contract. Since making those moves, Viacom has struck a deal with Cablevision to resolve the dispute but has not settled yet with Time Warner.
The live streaming subject came up during the show’s Tuesday morning keynote while Esser and Motorola Mobility Chairman and CEO Sanjay Jha discussed the cable industry’s fledgling attempts to accelerate its pace of innovation. Conceding that the iPad’s launch has given cable a decided kick in the pants, Esser said it will end up taking Cox just nine months from scratch to roll out TV Connect to the public.
Speaking in another show session, Necessary said gaming consoles are “clearly on our roadmap” as well. While a lack of programming license rights now keeps Cox from distributing video outside subscribers’ homes, he indicated that he expects the situation to change. “Those issues will work themselves out,” he predicted.
Comcast, the largest U.S. MSO, has threatened to launch a similar live TV streaming application for portable devices. But the company hasn’t disclosed a launch date for the proposed service yet.
Alan Breznick is a Toronto-based senior analyst at Heavy Reading, part of the Light Reading Communications Network at UBM TechWeb. He is covering the 2011 SCTE Cable-Tec Expo for Cartt.ca.
