14 DAY TRIAL // As previously expected, cable companies Time Warner and Comcast have announced their new system for bringing content online. The idea is simple: users will be able to view TV content online for free as long as they are cable subscribers. Time Warner is calling it “TV Everywhere,” Comcast “OnDemand Online,” but, whatever they're naming it, it's going to require a form of authentication.
“TV Everywhere is no longer just a concept, but a working model to deliver consumers more television content over broadband than ever before. We consistently look to make our popular, branded content more accessible to consumers in order to grow our business. This progressive approach to delivering television content online will enable the continued vibrancy and growth of distribution outlets, their content partners and advertising clients,” Time Warner Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes said.
The program will begin with a trial involving 5,000 users over the course of this summer. The content available will come from the cable networks, like Comedy Central or SciFi, and not from the four big TV networks. The cable companies are spinning it as a new opportunity for cable subscribers going as far as calling it “the future of the Internet.”
“Today’s announcement is all about giving our customers exponentially more free content, more choice and more HD programming online as well as on TV. We have been working for a year to bring more TV and movie content to our customers online and we are thrilled that Time Warner is joining us in our national technical trial. Ultimately, our goal is to make TV content available to our customers on all platforms,” Brian L. Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, added.
But is it really the future of the Internet? At first, this may sound odd in a world where big media companies are finally starting to turn to the web not as an enemy but as an opportunity to make money. The big networks have their Hulu, three of them anyway, as CBS is going at it alone with TV.com, a free service, albeit only available in the US. So why, then, are the two companies making this move, which, at the very least, seems a step backwards? Because their current business model doesn't account for the Internet, because they are losing content and customers to the web, and because they are worried that the same thing that happened to the newspaper industry will happen to them. However, if this is really the right move, we'll just have to wait and see.