Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Technology
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Internet
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Corrected: Time Warner, Comcast plan more TV on Web
Wed Jun 24, 2009 4:05pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
(Corrects Brian Roberts' company in 10th paragraph)
By Paul Thomasch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Time Warner Inc and Comcast Corp have banded together to test ways to allow people to watch more TV shows over the Web, while making sure they keep paying for their traditional cable or satellite TV services.
The partnership by two major media companies underscores the pressure the TV industry is under to protect its revenue but also satisfy consumers who want to watch their favorite drama or comedy at a time and place of their choosing.
Time Warner and Comcast are banking on an approach that would essentially allow viewers to see any show at any time over any sort of device they wanted -- whether that is a TV set, computer or cell phone.
One catch: they must first prove they are a cable or satellite customer, meaning they already pay a monthly subscription fee for TV.
In announcing the partnership on Wednesday, Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes stressed that he viewed the plan as a "free gift" for consumers that simply "expands" their entertainment choices.
"If this approach gets adopted ... it will clearly be the biggest story in video-on-demand and Internet video," Bewkes said.
Shares of both companies were up more than 1 percent.
In testing whether the system will work, both technically and strategically, Time Warner and Comcast will begin a national trial of the service in July.
The roughly 5,000 customers in the trial will be able to access full episodes of shows from Time Warner's TNT and TBS networks like "The Closer" and "My Boys" on Comcast.net just hours after they air on TV.
Bewkes said he was "talking to pretty much all the satellite, telephone and other cable companies" about similar initiatives. For his part, Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said he expected other networks to join the approach and offer their own hit shows.
"It's kind of like iTunes but it's better because you don't have to pay," Bewkes said.
Bewkes has made no secret of his desire to move the industry toward what he calls "TV Everywhere," a catchphrase for an approach that boils down to a requirement that viewers prove they pay for a TV service before they can watch shows on the web. Comcast calls it "On Demand Online."
Whatever the name, getting audiences to keep paying for a TV service is paramount for cable operators like Comcast. It is hardly less essential for cable networks like TBS, since they collect fees from cable operators that carry their programs.
The fear within the industry is that by failing to protect their shows from the free, open world of the Web, the TV industry will suffer the same devastation as the publishing and music worlds. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Mobile money seen as chance for world's poorest
Also On Reuters
Slideshow
Slideshow: Evicted -- the housing crisis takes its toll
Keep up the good-enough work, Mr. President
Slum walls raise suspicion in Rio de Janeiro
More Technology News
Microsoft CEO still open to partnership with Yahoo
Apple's Jobs has "excellent prognosis"
Twitter users buy more music: report
Microsoft debuts power conservation website
Mobile money seen as chance for world's poorest
More Technology News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
South Carolina Governor Sanford admits extramarital affair
Fannie, Freddie asked to relax condo loan rules: report
Gone hiking? Missing governor sparks political fight
A few extra pounds can add years to your life: study
UPDATE 2-S. Carolina gov. admits extramarital affair
Sexy? Yes. Megan Fox says it's part of "Transformers"
Harvard cuts 275 jobs, cites drop in endowment
"Transformers" sequel on track to beat first film
Dangling shoes on fence tell story of economic woes
Banking "broken," consumers need help: watchdog
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Star-struck teenager sues
Berlusconi denies sex scandal
Zurich tops Monocle survey
UK hosts nettle eating contest
Boy escapes runaway car
Demo detainees aired on Iran TV
Iran death sparks outrage
Obama praises Bernanke
US files WTO case against China
Coconut Kung Fu finger sets record
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.